The Supreme Court has upheld the conviction and six-year jail term handed to Francis Atuche, the former Managing Director of the now-defunct Bank PHB, by the Court of Appeal in Lagos. The judgment was delivered on June 23.

In a unanimous judgment on Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court held that Atuche’s appeal was without merit. The judgment, prepared by Justice Habeeb Abiru and read by Justice Moore Adumein, confirmed the decisions of the two lower courts.

The court stated, “Where the finding of a trial court on the demeanor of a witness is supported by oral and documentary evidence tendered at the trial, as in the present case, an appellate court has no business tampering with the decision of the trial court. This court has not been given any reason to tamper with the concurrent findings of the two lower courts in this appeal. This appeal is totally lacking in merit. This appeal fails and it is hereby dismissed.”

The Supreme Court’s ruling affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Lagos division, delivered on June 23, 2022, in appeal number CA/LA/CR/668/2021. The appeal court had upheld Atuche’s conviction on 27 charges related to a N25.7 billion fraud case. However, it had reduced his sentence from 12 years, as initially handed down by the High Court of Lagos State in Ikeja, to six years.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had prosecuted Atuche, his wife Elizabeth, and the former Chief Financial Officer of Bank PHB, Ugo Anyanwu, before Justice Lateefat Okunnu of the High Court of Lagos State. In a judgment on June 16, 2021, Justice Okunnu convicted Atuche and Anyanwu on 21 out of the 27-count amended charges of conspiracy to commit felony and stealing brought against them by the EFCC. Atuche was sentenced to 12 years in prison, while Anyanwu received a 10-year sentence.

Justice Okunnu discharged and acquitted Atuche’s wife, stating that the prosecution failed to link her to the crime. The judge noted that suspicion, no matter how strong, could not take the place of fact, and it was not proven that she was aware of the source of the funds she received into her account from her husband. She had no powers to influence the transaction.

The Court of Appeal later reduced Atuche’s sentence to six years and Anyanwu’s sentence to eight years. The appellate court also upheld the discharge and acquittal of Atuche’s wife.