Atuche’s trial: Court orders EFCC to produce documents within seven days

Justice Lateefat Okunnu of a Lagos High Court,
Ikeja yesterday ordered the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to, within
seven days, produce some documents relating
to the ongoing trial of former Managing Director
of Bank PHB, Mr. Francis Atuche.
The documents the court ordered the
commission to produce include board
resolutions of four companies, viz Integrated
Services Limited, Futureview Financial Services
Limited, Tradjeck Limited and Extra Oil Limited.
The judge had on October 2, 2013 issued a
subpoena on the EFCC and ordered the
commission to produce the documents on or
before the next sitting of the court on November
1, 2013.
Atuche and his wife, Elizabeth, were charged to
court by the EFCC, alongside a former Chief
Financial Officer of the bank, Ugo Anyanwu.
They are standing trial for allegedly stealing
N25.7 billion belonging to Bank PHB (now
Keystone Bank).
At the resumed trial of the matter on Friday,
Atuche’s counsel, Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN),
asked the court to order the EFCC to produce
the original documents.
Chief Idigbe said the documents are very
relevant to the charge as they relate to a N10.9
billion credit facility Atuche had allegedly
granted to the companies, without their
knowledge.
He alleged that the original copies of the said
documents were in the custody of the EFCC.
An EFCC official, Mr Boniface Uzoechi, who
reacted on behalf of the prosecution, admitted
that the documents are in the custody of the
commission.
Uzoechi however told the court that the said
documents were at the agency’s headquarters
in Abuja and that he only got to know that the
court was sitting yesterday.
Uzoechi said: ”I got to know about today’s
adjournment last night on my way from Osun
State.
“I was unable to get through to the Abuja office
to produce the documents.”
The court admitted as exhibits Bank PHB
Annual Reports for the years 2006, 2007 and
2008.
Also admitted as exhibits were minutes of Bank
PHB Board of Directors meetings between May
2007 and September 2009.
Justice Okunnu adjourned the matter till
November 1, 2013 to enable the EFCC produce
the documents ordered by the court.