Court Admits Documents As Exhibits In Atuche’s Trial

[TGD]

 JUSTICE Lateefah Okunnu of a Lagos High Court, Ikeja yesterday admitted as exhibits banks cheques and other vital documents at the on-going trial of the former Managing Director of Keystone Bank (formerly Bank PHB) Mr. Francis Atuche, his wife and the former chief operating officer of the bank, Ugo Anyanwu, over financial impropriety.

The set of documents, which include, bank transfer form, statements of accounts and bank drafts of some of the companies fingered in the N10.9billon loan facility were tendered by officials of Zenith Bank Plc, Oceanic Bank Plc (now Eco Bank) and First Bank Plc, as a result of a subpoena request   by the prosecution led by Kemi Pinheiro (SAN).

The bank officials who tendered the subpoenaed documents were, Musediq Onasanya (Eco Bank), Sunday Ezezobor (Zenith Bank) and Yusuf Abiodun Nureni (First Bank). The cheques, which ran into several billions of naira were in the names of Falcon Securities Limited, Futureview Limited, Resolution Securities Limited, Falcon Securities and Petrosan Nigeria Limited, companies mentioned in N10.9billon bank facility extended by BankPHB in its  public offer in 2008.

Before the documents were admitted as evidence, Atuche's counsel, Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN) had contested paragraph 9 of the subpoenaed document from Zenith Bank on the grounds that it did  not specify the transaction involved, which he said was against the law of subpoena.

But the judge overruled him on the grounds that the objection was on the weight of the documents and adjourned further hearing of the matter till March 22,2012.



The Guardian