Federal Government re-arraigns former Gulf bank managing director over N15.7 billion fraud

The federal government has re-arraigned a former Director of defunct Gulf Bank Plc, Johnson Adeyeba; a Briton, Gareth Wilcox and four others before the Federal High Court in Lagos over an alleged N15,761,176.24 billion fraud.

Adeyeba and Wilcox were arraigned before Justice Daniel Osiagor alongside a former Managing Director and executive officer of the bank, Babajide Rogers, the Managing Director of Ibom Power Company, Lyk Engineering Company, and a lawyer, Mr Uche Uwechia, who was the former Legal Advisor and Secretary to the defunct Gulf Bank Plc.

The defendants were docked on a 28-count amended charge bordering on stealing and fraud.

The defendants were accused of fraud, appropriating various sums of money from a defunct Gulf Bank to using Ibom Power Company and Lyk Engineering Limited, bridging loan facilities and taking overdraft facilities without due process, among others.

Adeyeba, Rogers, and Uwechia, alongside others at large, were accused of recklessly granting a loan facility of N450 million to Ibom Power Company Limited without adequate security and contrary to the accepted practice.

At the resumed hearing of the case, the prosecutor, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), told the court that the charge was first filed in 2013 and suffered several setbacks.

Jacobs also informed the court that the defendants allegedly committed the offences on April 1, 2001, in Lagos.

He further claimed that the third defendant, while being indebted to Gulf Bank, willfully made a statement denying the liability of the fourth and fifth defendants in respect of the dollars and Naira loans granted them by the defunct Gulf Bank PLC, knowing the same to be false, to avoid the repayment of the loan granted.

The first, second and sixth defendants were alleged to have, on December 24, 2002, recklessly granted a bridging loan facility of $20 million to Ibom Power Company Limited without adequate security, contrary to the accepted practice.

The first to third defendants were also said to have, on the same day, granted a loan of $9.2 million, N150 million, and N10 million to Ibom Power Company Limited.

Adeyeba, Rogers, and Uwechia were further alleged to have, on April 25, 2001, granted a loan of N1,454,000,000 to Lyk Engineering Company Limited.

On the same day, Wilcox, while being the Managing Director of Ibom Power and Lyk Engineering Companies, limited, while being indebted to the bank, willfully made a statement in the set’s debenture stamped only for the said N10 million, knowing same to be false to avoid the repayment of the loan granted to him.

Sometime in January 2001, they also allegedly granted a loan facility of $17m to Lyk Engineering Company Limited for the payment of equity contribution of Lyk Engineering Company in Ibom Power Company, with no security as usually required by the Bank’s regulation.

Between January 2001 and 2004, Adeyeba, Rogers, and Uwechia were alleged to have negligently granted a loan facility of $1.8m to Lyk for the operational and administrative expenses of Lyk Engineering Company Limited in Ibom Power Company Limited.

The six defendants were alleged to have, between 2003 and 2004, converted the aggregate of N1.8bn, which was illegally taken from the then Gulf Bank of Nigeria Plc, and paid Lyk Engineering company for its operational and administrative expenses, the sum which they knew represented the proceeds of crime.

Adeyeba, Rogers, and Uwechia were further accused of recklessly granting a loan facility of $9.1m for the payment of consultancies, conceptual design, rail designs, and soil investigation for non-existing refinery project for Lyk Engineering Nigeria company limited, Lyk corporation and Centum Overseas limited.

They were also alleged to have, between April 1, 2001, December 24, 2002, August 8, 2003, and some other dates, fraudulently used their various positions to convert the sum of N15, 761,176.24 to fund their private businesses.

The defendants were alleged to have also used their positions to defraud the defunct bank of the said amount to fund the Briton’s companies.

At the same time, the two of them were also alleged to have used the money to purchase a vessel and finance a non-existent refinery.

Adeyeba was specifically alleged to have also fraudulently converted to his personal property, two plots of land, Plot 22 and 23 Zone K, Federal Government Layout, Banana Island, Lagos State, with Certificate of Occupancy numbers 27/27/96 and 7/7/96 dated 20 June 2003, belonging to the defunct bank.

The lawyer, Uwechia, allegedly aided the former bank chairman to convert the said lands to his personal properties. The value of the land is estimated to be N600m.

The offences, according to the prosecution, are contrary to sections 15(1)(c) (2) and (3) of the failed banks (recovery of debt) and financial malpractices in banks act Cap F2,2010 and punishable under section 16(1), (2),18(1)(2) and 19(4) of the failed banks (recovery of debt and financial malpractices.

Alleged, the defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Justice Osiagor has adjourned the case to December 13 for trial.

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