Appeal Court upholds 7-year jail term for ex-GTB staff over N50m loan fraud

The Court of Appeal in Enugu has affirmed the conviction and seven-year prison sentence handed to Onyekachi Nwosu, a former employee of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), for his role in a fraudulent N50 million loan scheme.

In a judgment delivered by Justice Zainab Baba Abubakar, the appellate court upheld the decision of the Federal High Court in Enugu which found Nwosu guilty of financial misconduct under the Failed Banks (Recovery of Debts) and Financial Malpractices in Banks Act.

The case was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Nwosu, who served as the account officer to Anyaso Chinedu, owner of Floxy Aluminum Odiofele Products Limited, was initially arraigned by the EFCC on a nine-count charge bordering on forgery and obtaining money under false pretence.

Justice R.O. Dugbo Oghoghorie of the Federal High Court had, on January 14, 2021, convicted him after finding that he facilitated a N50 million loan to the company using falsified documents and misrepresented collateral.

Investigations revealed that Nwosu used a forged document titled “An Application to Mortgage, Consent to Mortgage and Tripartite Legal Mortgage” to fraudulently convince GTB that one Mrs. Adebimpe Foluke had pledged her property as collateral for the loan.

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Further findings established that Nwosu personally benefited to the tune of N40 million, which he withdrew directly from the account of Floxy Aluminum Odiofele Products Limited after the loan was approved.

During the trial, EFCC’s counsel, Assistant Commander of the EFCC (ACE II) Mainforce Adaka Ekwu, presented four witnesses and tendered 16 exhibits, all admitted into evidence as Exhibits EFCC 1–16. Justice Oghoghorie ruled that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt, leading to Nwosu’s conviction.

Unhappy with the ruling, Nwosu filed an appeal, seeking to overturn the trial court’s decision. However, while the Court of Appeal set aside convictions on counts one to eight of the original charge, it upheld the conviction on count nine.

Count nine stated that Nwosu, in his capacity as a GTB staff member, facilitated the fraudulent N50 million loan in September 2010 and subsequently collected N40 million as personal gratification—an offence punishable under Section 16 (1) (a) of the Failed Banks Act.

Justice Abubakar, delivering the unanimous decision of the three-member panel, stated:

“The evidence of the First Prosecution Witness (PW1) corroborated the confession of the appellant that he collected N40 million from the loan sum of N50 million granted to the third respondent, Floxy Aluminum Odiofele Products Limited.

“The appellant has admitted that he collected N40 million from the loan sum, which has proved the last ingredient of the offence against the appellant.”

The Court concluded that the trial court was right to convict Nwosu on the remaining count and upheld the seven-year sentence accordingly.