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Ex First Bank Staff Accused Oba Otudeko , Ex Bank MD Bisi Onasanya of Massive Fraud

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1 month ago

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Mrs Ezenwa alleges that unsecured loans of roughly N12 billion were given to a company in which Mr Otudeko has significant investment even though the facility was masked as loans to Stallion Group of Companies.

A former employee of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Adesuwa Ezenwa, has accused billionaire industrialist Pa Oba Otudeko popularly known as ‘Mr Let Us Pray’of massive fraud during his time as chairman of FBN Holdings Plc, the parent company of the bank.

Bisi Onasanya, the bank’s managing director/chief executive officer at the time, was also named in the allegations.

Mrs Ezenwa, who the bank summarily dismissed in October 2016, has initiated legal action against First Bank at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Lagos Judicial Division, seeking redress for the termination of her appointment, which she said was done “without any reason whatsoever being offered.”

The former First Bank staffer is, among other reliefs, demanding five hundred million naira in damages and twenty-five million naira in legal costs.

In court documents obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, Mrs Ezenwa alleged that the bank’s credit disciplinary committee made her bear the brunt of granting unsecured loan facilities worth billions of naira to companies in which Mr Otudeko and Mr Onasanya had substantial investments, while her superiors who approved and granted the credit were not so penalised.

She said she joined the bank on 27 May 2002 and became a relationship manager in the corporate banking division of First Bank in February 2016. According to a court paper, in 2010, Mrs Ezenwa worked under the supervision of Abiodun Olatunji, her branch manager at the Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Victoria Island Branch of the bank, and under her group head, Cecilia Majekodunmi.

The document stated that Mr Olatunji later became the group head, while Mrs Majekodunmi became an executive vice president, working closely with and reporting to Mr Onasanya.

“As a relationship manager, I worked under the supervision and direction of my branch manager and group head and signed official correspondence only after they had approved and/or signed same. I had no independent authority in relation to the grant or disbursement of loans or other banking facilities,” Mrs Ezenwa said.

According to the claimant, she executed a large number of documents while she was still employed by First Bank, but only after approval by her bosses and on their direction.

She said she was summoned on 25 August 2015 to appear before a credit disciplinary committee reviewing facilities availed to a company known as Supply and Services Limited, a subsidiary of Royal Ceramics Group, one of the major customers of the bank.

The plaintiff said the committee could not determine whether she had a personal interest in any of the loans granted or whether she made any gain related to her duties. She said she was, however, blamed during proceedings for not whistleblowing on some of the deals endorsed by Mr Olatunji and Mrs Majekodunm

“The admonition was most unfair and unwarranted as I was in no position to whistleblow on my superiors … The persons to whom these reports would have been made were the very persons who were the perpetrators of the misdeeds,” she said.

A litany of allegations against Mr Otudeko

Mrs Ezenwa disclosed that unsecured loans of roughly N12 billion were availed, on one occasion, to a company in which Mr Otudeko has significant investment even though the facility was masked as loans granted to Stallion Group of Companies, which later spotted the false entry in its statement of account and complained.

In one case in 2012, she further alleged, an unsecured credit estimated at N2 billion was granted to Broadwaters Resources Company Nigeria Limited, which ended up being a conduit pipe used by Mrs Majekodunmi and Mr Onasanya to siphon monies from the bank. The claimant said the loan was never repaid.

“Out of the N12 billion camouflaged as lending to the Stallion Group, N8.21 billion was transferred through various accounts to a final destination account belonging to a company known as V-TECH LTD, which belongs to the chairman of FBN Holdings, Oba Otudeko, while the sum of N4.45 billion out of the same fictitious facility was transferred to Ontario Oil and Gas. The facility remains unpaid to date,” Mrs Ezenwa said in court fillings.

According to her, several similar loans were granted by Mr Olatunji and Mrs Majekodunmi, including to Supplies and Services Limited, which were “subsequently sublet and disbursed in smaller bits to several customers on more profitable terms to both officers.”

Swap Technologies and Telecomms Plc, Orbit Cargo, Netconstruct Nigeria Limited, and High-Performance Distributions Limited were among the companies named as beneficiaries of the loan disbursement.

Mrs Ezenwa disclosed that such loans could not have been granted without the involvement of the board of First Bank, considering that the amounts involved were huge and above the approval limits of the executive directors, the vice president and the managing director of the bank.

According to the complainant, her dismissal by the bank brought her into disrepute, threatening her chances of securing employment in reputable companies in future.

“The action of the defendant (First Bank) has consequently caused the claimant untold mental distress and is all the more damaging as the claimant is in her thirties and has simply been made a scapegoat for the malfeasance of some of the lapses of the management of the bank,” she said.

Among other demands, Mrs Ezenwa is urging the court to declare that there was no basis for the bank to dismiss her.

“She is being made a scapegoat for a lot of questionable transactions within the bank, which she is claiming innocent of,” Seyi Sowemimo, the claimant’s lawyer, told PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday. “So far, the trial has started. We have subpoenaed the EFCC, and we have subpoenaed the central bank to bring the audit reports of the bank,” Seyi Sowemimo, the claimant’s lawyer, told PREMIUM TIMES.

 

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Billionaire Femi Otedola’s mother, Christine, receives prestigious Papal honour…

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2 days ago

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September 18, 2024

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In a remarkable recognition of her selfless service to the Catholic Church and society, Mrs Christine Doja Otedola, mother of renowned businessman Femi Otedola, has been conferred with a Papal Honour by Pope Francis.

 

 

A Papal Honour, also known as a Pontifical Honour, is a prestigious award conferred by the Pope, the head of the Catholic Church, on individuals who have demonstrated exceptional service, dedication, and commitment to the Church and society.

 

The honour, one of the highest in the Catholic Church, was presented to Mrs Otedola by His Grace, Archbishop Alfred Adewale Martins of the Metropolitan See of Lagos, on behalf of the Pope, on September 14.

 

Mrs Otedola was specifically recognised in the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice category, a testament to her unwavering commitment to the Church and humanity.

 

Femi Otedola took to his X page to celebrate his mother’s achievement.

 

 

Sharing photos from the ceremony and expressing his pride, he wrote: “Congratulations, Mummy – Dame Christine Doja, on your award of the Papal Honour of Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice by His Holiness Pope Francis. This is an honour well deserved.”

 

 

 

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Society

Real Reasons ICPC Arrests El-Rufai’s Finance Commissioner, Shizzer Joy Nasara Bada At Lagos Airport

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2 days ago

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September 17, 2024

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Bada was reportedly travelling out of the country on Sunday when ICPC operatives apprehended her at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos. 

 

 

 

Operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) have arrested a former Commissioner of Finance and Accountant General in Kaduna State, under Nasir el-Rufai’s administration, Shizzer Joy Nasara Bada at the Lagos Airport.

 

 

Bada was reportedly travelling out of the country on Sunday when ICPC operatives apprehended her at the Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos.

 

The ICPC officials said there was rising suspicion of a potential escape in the wake of mounting corruption allegations against the ex-governor el-Rufai, and herself.

Sources close to the government indicated to The Guardian that the ICPC had been tracking Bada’s movements after receiving an intelligence report suggesting that she might leave the country to evade investigation.

 

 

 

The arrest came as part of a broader crackdown on officials who served under el-Rufai’s administration, with multiple figures now under scrutiny for their roles in the alleged financial mismanagement of the state.

 

 

Already, el-Rufai has been indicted by the Kaduna State House of Assembly in its committee report of allegedly syphoning N423 billion from the state treasury. While the specific allegations against Bada remain under wraps, insiders believe they are connected to large-scale financial irregularities, including the mismanagement of public funds and alleged embezzlement.

Bada’s arrest has sparked widespread interest, with political observers questioning whether this could be the beginning of a wider probe into the former governor’s administration.

 

 

 

The Commission is expected to provide more details as the investigation unfolds, potentially exposing a web of corruption that could implicate several top figures.

Recall that Nasir El-Rufai, had also initiated a legal action against the Kaduna State House of Assembly following its claim that his administration misappropriated N432 billion during his eight-year tenure, resulting in significant state debt.

 

 

 

A fundamental rights suit was filed at the Federal High Court in Kaduna in June by the former governor’s attorney, Abdulhakeem Mustapha, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

 

 

 

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Society

Pre-paid meter bills: Nigerians dump electrical appliances to cut cost  …..

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2 days ago

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September 17, 2024

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Usage of electrical appliances is one lifestyle Nigerians have come to embrace to achieve ease and save time in the various activities they perform in their homes.

 

 

During the era of pre-paid metres, gadgets such as electric stove, cooker, blenders, washing machines, boiling rings, pressing iron, deep freezers, among others, were highly purchased by households to either upgrade their kitchens or ease time in activities surrounding their lives.

 

 

Many especially women join thrift’s contribution (ajo or esusu as popularly known in Nigeria) to be able to raise money to purchase some of these items thereby putting smiles on the faces of producers and distributors of such gadgets.

 

However, the economy and lifestyle has discovered that many households have now abandoned the use of most of these gadgets since the introduction of prepaid meters.

 

Some ended up selling them to people selling fairly used products or other people still on post paid meters.

 

 

Mrs. Bridget Johnson, a banker said: “ Since I started using prepaid meter, I have stopped using most of my gadgets, especially the electric cooker, washing machine, pressing iron, among other things.

 

“We watch television set once a day. I had to buy an ipad where I downloaded various types of cartoons and educational materials for my kids to keep them busy.

 

“We switch off the lights and put on my fridge for three hours and switch it off once it is iced for a day.

 

“The rate at which the prepaid meter runs is alarming of recently.

 

 

Before I pay N32 per unit and when I load N10,000 with strict adherence to the rules my husband and I placed in the house it lasts us up to two weeks for the bills to get exhausted.

 

 

But recently, I discovered that when I loaded the N10,000 it wasn’t up to the two weeks before it finished.

 

“I had to call the electricity distribution office where they told me I had been transferred to band A.

 

“I was so pissed off with such a transition but had no choice than to accept it .

 

“In Nigeria of today you have to cut costs whether you like it or not.”

 

 

Mr. Shodimu Olorunfemi, a businessman, said: “Using a prepaid meter has its own advantages. “One of them is regulating what you consume.

 

“By doing so you have to forfeit carrying out certain lifestyles, especially using electronic gadgets that consume lots of electricity.

 

“Such gadgets like electric cooker, hot plate, pressing iron, refrigerator, Air conditioner, among others consume higher units of electricity.

 

 

In my house, I prohibited the switching on of lights during the day and also watching television all the time.

 

“Except I have a very important event I want to attend, I don’t iron my clothes. I pick the clothes for each day and hang them to straighten up.

 

 

My wife and I had to give out most of our gadgets to family members and friends who use post paid meters.

 

“With this development and the state of the economy, those selling electronic gadgets are on the losing side because people like us will not even have a spoilt gadget talk of buying a new one.”

 

For Mrs. Bakare Judith, a secretary and newly wed, she sold all her home appliances that consume high electricity units.

 

“I had to sell most of the electric gadgets I brought to my husband’s house when I discovered that he was using a prepaid meter.

 

 

I use the blender once in two months and ironing is done once in a blue moon.

 

 

 

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