The Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu has upheld the conviction and seven-year prison sentence of Onyekachi Nwosu, a former staff of Guaranty Trust Bank, for his role in a N50 million loan fraud.
Nwosu was prosecuted by the Enugu Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a nine-count charge, including forgery and obtaining money under false pretence. The Federal High Court in Enugu, presided over by Justice R.O. Dugbo Oghoghorie, convicted him on January 14, 2021.
The EFCC revealed that Nwosu, acting as the account officer to a businessman, Anyaso Chinedu, who owns Floxy Aluminum Odiofele Products Limited, forged a document titled “An Application to Mortgage, Consent to Mortgage and Tripartite Legal Mortgage.”
This document falsely indicated that a woman named Mrs. Adebimpe Foluke had pledged her property as collateral for a loan to the company.
Investigators found that Nwosu personally withdrew N40 million from the company’s account after the fraudulent loan was disbursed.
During the trial, EFCC counsel, Mainforce Adaka Ekwu, presented four witnesses and submitted 16 exhibits marked as EFCC 1–16.
Justice Oghoghorie ruled that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt and sentenced Nwosu accordingly.
Nwosu, dissatisfied with the ruling, appealed the decision. While the Appeal Court set aside his conviction on counts one to eight, it upheld the conviction on count nine.
That particular charge stated that in September 2010, while serving as a bank officer at GTBank, Nwosu facilitated a N50 million loan to Floxy Aluminum Odiofele Products Limited and received N40 million from the loan as a personal benefit—an act punishable under the Failed Banks (Recovery of Debts) and Financial Malpractices in Banks Act.
Delivering judgment on behalf of the three-member panel, Justice Zainab Babe Abubakar noted that the testimony of the first prosecution witness aligned with Nwosu’s confession, confirming he took N40 million from the loan.
The court concluded that the trial court’s decision to convict Nwosu on this count was justified.
