Ex-First Bank official accuses billionaire Oba Otudeko of massive fraud

Adesuwa Ezenwa, a former employee of First Bank of Nigeria, has accused Billionaire, Oba Otudeko, of fraud while he was serving as chairman of FBN Holdings PLC.  

This was disclosed in the application by the former bank employee before the National Industrial Court, Lagos.  

 In a legal action document cited by PREMIUM TIMES, she alleged that she granted unsecured loans to companies in which Mr. Otudeko had investments.

The former bank employee stated she was dismissed in 2016 “without any reason whatsoever being offered”, asking the court to reward her several millions for the bank’s termination of her appointment.  

Applicant’s Case

 She said that her career at FBN Holdings PLC began as a relationship manager in corporate banking on May 27, 2002. 

Mrs. Adesuwa stated that as a relationship manager, she worked under the supervision of her branch manager, Mr. Abiodun Olatunji, and the group head, Cecilia Majekodunmi, at the Victoria Island branch of the bank. 

“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 it. I had no independent authority in relation to the grant or disbursement of loans or other banking facilities.” 

However, she claimed that all executions happened with the approval of her bosses. 

Her legal team explained their client was found guilty and fired in 2015 after a large number of documents and unsecured loans she handled were investigated by the credit disciplinary committee of FBN Holdings Limited,  

“The admonition was most unfair and unwarranted, as I was in no position to whistle-blow on my superiors… The persons to whom these reports would have been made were the very persons who were the perpetrators of the misdeeds, “ the court documents read.  

She urged the court to award N500 million in damages and N25 million in legal fees.  

More insights

In the disclosure, Mrs. Adesuwa stated that she played a part in providing unsecured loans of up to N12 billion for the Stallion Group of companies, in which Mr. Otudeko had significant investments.  

She also said that the loan, which was termed “loans granted to stallion groups of companies,” was for the personal and business interests of the billionaire. 

“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.” 

According to her, Swap Technologies and Telcomm Plc, Orbit Cargo, Netconstruct Nigeria Limited, and High-Performance Distribution Limited were also mentioned as beneficiaries of unsecured loans that were approved while she was a relationship manager. 

It is now left for the court to determine the case based on facts presented before it by the parties.  

Backstory

The allegations by the ex-staff are not unrelated to Honeywell Group Limited (HGL) and Otudeko, whose company has significantly acquired shares of FBN Holdings Plc (FBNH). 

The share transaction dispute is already before another court, where FBN Holdings believes that due procedures have not been followed. 

Nairametrics previously reported that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and FBN Holdings Plc had asked a Federal High Court in Lagos to dismiss a lawsuit brought by investment firm Barbican Capital Ltd. 

The suit concerns an alleged alteration of 5.39 billion units of shares in FBN Holdings, a significant stake in one of Nigeria’s leading financial institutions. 

Barbican Capital, an affiliate of Honeywell Group Limited, claims that over the years, it has cumulatively acquired 15.1% of FBN Holdings’ shares. 

The firm asserts that these acquisitions were properly recorded by FBN Holdings’ appointed registrars, Meristem Registrar and Probate Service Ltd, and acknowledged by the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS). However, the legitimacy of this shareholding is now under scrutiny. 

In court filings, FBN Holdings, represented by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Babajide Koku, argues that Barbican Capital deliberately concealed an ongoing verification exercise by the CBN. 

The CBN, in a deposition by Orjiakor Nwabueze, Deputy Director of the Banking Supervision Department, emphasized the importance of this verification exercise. 

“The CBN demanded evidence of the purchase of shares claimed by the plaintiff with a view to verifying the shares and ensuring that the shares were actually purchased.” 

“While the verification of shares was ongoing, the CBN, having realized that necessary documents were not supplied, wrote a letter on 5th January 2024 to the defendant notifying it of some documents/information that had not been provided to aid the verification exercise. 

“The third party (CBN) instructed the plaintiff and its group to provide materials/evidence to prove its purchase/ownership of the outstanding 2,340,599,305 shares to enable it to verify their authenticity. The third party is still expecting the plaintiff and its group to return with relevant materials to enable it to decide whether to grant consent/approval for the outstanding shares,” Nwabueze stated.