0:00
three-man panel of justices at the
0:02
federal court of appeal in Anugu state
0:04
have upheld the decision of the lower
0:06
high court that had earlier sentenced a
0:08
staff of guarantee trust bank GT bank on
0:12
Wosu to 7 years imprisonment in line
0:15
with the enacted Nigeria law of failed
0:18
banks or recovery of debts and financial
0:21
malpractices act which the convict
0:23
fraudulently used the property of one
0:25
Mrs Adimpe Foluk to apply and disperse
0:28
50 million naira loan into the savings
0:31
account of GT bank customer and withdrew
0:34
40 million naira of the money from the
0:36
beneficial savings account for his
0:39
personal use This is coming at a
0:41
critical period Many Nigerians are
0:43
doubting the credibility and integrity
0:45
of GT Bank management after a popular
0:48
human rights activist Martins Vincent to
0:51
aka Vidman was arrested last Friday at
0:54
the exist gate of GT Bank branch in
0:57
Abuja by the economic and financial
0:59
crimes commission EFCC when the activist
1:03
went with his mother to seek
1:04
clarification over apparent unauthorized
1:07
constant savings withdrawals as loan
1:09
repayments from his mother's savings
1:11
asset with the bank with the activist
1:13
mother saying she never took loan from
1:15
the bank and EFCC arresting and
1:18
releasing Vid Darkman after almost 5
1:20
days in detention without specifically
1:22
stating the alleged offense or offenses
1:25
committed by the activist may have
1:26
created room for some level of
1:28
insinuations in certain quarters that
1:31
seize GT bank management as people
1:33
probably using the state security assets
1:35
to commit act of criminal intimidation
1:38
and oppression of complainers to cover
1:40
up the bank suspected loan fraud and
1:43
malpractices According to EFCC news
1:46
release made available about an hour ago
1:49
the Anugu division of the Court of
1:50
Appeal has upheld the conviction and 7
1:53
years prison sentence of one on Yakuchi
1:56
Inosu a former employee of Guaranty
1:58
Trust Bank for his commission of over 50
2:00
million naira 50 million naira loan
2:03
fraud Inosu was prosecuted by the Enugu
2:07
zonal directorate of the economic and
2:09
financial crimes commission EFCC on a
2:12
9-count charge bordering on forgery and
2:15
obtaining by false pretense to the tune
2:17
of 50 million naira and was convicted
2:19
and sentenced by justice
2:22
arrogy of federal high court sitting in
2:25
independence layout enugu on January
2:29
2021 The convict who was an account
2:32
officer of one anuso Shindu owner of
2:35
Fluxy Aluminum Odo Products Limited used
2:38
a forged document titled an application
2:41
to mortgage consent to mortgage and
2:43
tripartite legal mortgage to deceive GTB
2:46
into believing that one Mrs Adamimp
2:48
Foluk pledged her property as collateral
2:51
for the said loan to Fluxy Aluminium Odo
2:54
Products Limited Investigations revealed
2:57
that he benefited 40 million naira from
2:59
the fraudulent act by directly
3:01
withdrawing it from the account of
3:03
flocky aluminium odo products limited In
3:06
the course of his trial prosecution
3:09
council assistant commander of the EFCC
3:12
a two main forced called four witnesses
3:15
and tended 16 exhibits which were
3:17
admitted in evidences exhibit EFCC
3:21
1-6 At the end of the trial Justice
3:24
Ogori held that the EFCC proved its case
3:27
beyond reasonable doubt and convicted
3:29
and sentenced in Wosu accordingly
3:32
Dissatisfied with the judgment the
3:34
convict approached the appeal court
3:36
praying it to set aside the judgment of
3:38
the trial court while Eku the
3:40
prosecution council prayed the court to
3:42
uphold the judgment of the high court
3:44
and dismiss the appeal on the grounds
3:46
that the prosecution proved its case
3:48
beyond reasonable doubt The court of
3:51
appeals set aside the convictions from
3:53
the trial court on counts 1 to 8 but
3:55
upheld that on count nine Count nine of
3:58
the charge reads that you on Yakuchi in
4:01
Wosu sometime in September 2010 in Enugu
4:05
within the jurisdiction of the Federal
4:07
High Court of Nigeria while being an
4:10
officer of Guarantee Trust Bank and
4:12
being connected with the grant of loan
4:15
knowingly processed and facilitated the
4:17
grant loan of 50 million naira 50
4:20
million naira O to Floxy Aluminum Odo
4:23
Products Limited received the sum of 40
4:26
million naira 40 million naira 0.0 O as
4:30
personal gratification out of the said
4:32
loan after it was granted thereby
4:34
committed an offense contrary to section
4:37
151 E and punishable under section 161
4:42
of the failed banks recovery of debts
4:44
and financial malpractices in banks act
4:47
cap F2 laws of the federation of Nigeria
4:51
in a unanimous judgment of a
4:52
three-member panel of the appeal court
4:55
delivered by justice seab bee Abu Bakr
4:58
the court of appeal appeal held that the
4:59
evidence of the first prosecution
5:01
witness PW1 corroborated the confession
5:04
of the appellant that he collected 40
5:06
million naira from the loan sum of 50
5:09
million naira granted to the third
5:11
respondent flocky aluminum odo products
5:14
limited the appellant has admitted that
5:16
he collected 40 million naira from the
5:18
loan sum which has proved the last
5:21
ingredient of the offense against the
5:23
appellent consequently the conviction of
5:26
the appellant on this count nine of the
5:28
charge charge by the trial court was in
5:30
order In my humble view the court said
5:33
it would be recalled that we had
5:34
reported that the Nigeria
5:36
Anti-Corruption Police Economic and
5:38
Financial Crimes Commission EFCC may
5:41
have failed to state the alleged crime
5:44
or crimes committed by a human rights
5:46
activist Martins Vincent aka Vidman
5:50
since 5 days over 120 hours The
5:53
anti-corruption police arrested him in
5:55
Abuja when he went with his mother to GT
5:58
Bank to get clarification from the bank
6:01
over constant apparent unauthorized
6:04
withdrawals affected by the bank on the
6:06
woman's savings account Although Varied
6:09
Darkman was arrested alongside his
6:10
friend Steven Avuara aka CPAC but
6:13
according to the statement issued by the
6:15
activist lawyers legal chamber Deji
6:18
Adiandu and partners Steven Avuara was
6:21
released shortly after he was arrested
6:23
on Friday with the chamber insisting
6:25
that desert on Tuesday E FCC have not
6:28
been able to state the crime or crimes
6:30
their client Verid Dartman committed
6:32
Rather as at on Monday four operatives
6:35
of the EFCC engaged the human rights
6:38
activist in hours long questions that
6:41
borders on why he allegedly monetized
6:43
his social media pages his public
6:46
comments about a gospel musician his tax
6:49
records and his source of income This
6:51
apparently authenticated the BBC reports
6:54
that the EFCC confirmed to it that Vid
6:57
Darkman was arrested and detained for
6:59
cyber talking A BBC report which EFCC
7:02
swiftly launched media war against the
7:05
British media tagging the BBC report as
7:08
a fake news And in retaliation the BBC
7:11
pigeon replied EFCC with a post that its
7:14
report is correct And undoubtedly the
7:16
crime of cyberalking may not be the duty
7:18
of the EFCC as such is apparently the
7:21
constitutional responsibility of the
7:23
Nigeria Police Force And if true that
7:26
the human rights activist was detained
7:28
for cyber talking it shows that the
7:30
country ruling political party the All
7:32
Progressives Congress APC may have
7:35
questions to answer The APC had earlier
7:38
issued threat message to the human
7:40
rights activist after the activist
7:42
called the Nigeria Senate President
7:44
God's Will Actio out over the Senate
7:47
President traveling to Rome in Italy to
7:49
attend Pope Francis burial while almost
7:52
daily killings and unabated high level
7:54
of insecurity are observed in several
7:57
states in the West Africa country And
7:59
furthermore EFCC in a statement on
8:02
Tuesday only issued an apparent vague
8:04
statement that he received series of
8:06
petitions against the activists as a way
8:09
to try to justify why the human rights
8:11
activist was arrested and detained But
8:14
the anti-corruption commission probably
8:16
could not make any reasonable allegation
8:19
against the human rights defender even
8:21
when the commission confirmed in the
8:23
statement that it has been investigating
8:25
the allegations filed against Bereman
8:28
before the activist was arrested in a
8:30
commandoike style at the exit gate of GT
8:32
bank We have reported that there is
8:35
apparent tension in Nigeria over the
8:37
arrest of a popular human rights
8:39
activist Martins Vincent aka Vid Darkman
8:43
or VDM who was allegedly seized by
8:45
Nigeria security operatives in a manner
8:48
that have kept many wondering suspecting
8:50
acts of oppression and intimidation
8:52
based on threats issued by the ruling
8:55
political party All Progressives
8:57
Congress APC against the human rights
9:00
activist after the activist condemned
9:02
the Nigeria Senate President President
9:04
God's will Akabio for traveling to
9:06
Vatican in Italy to attend Pope Francis
9:09
burial ceremony While he said the Senate
9:12
President has failed to visit states
9:14
where almost daily burial ceremonies are
9:16
often held in some states like Plateau
9:19
Bonu Quir Enugu and Ogan states where
9:22
gunmen bandits are killing the Senate
9:25
President fellow citizens in large
9:27
numbers unabated in recent time in
9:30
Nigeria and angered by the talks The APC
9:33
South South zonal organizing secretary
9:36
blessing Abbomb here issued 7 days
9:38
ultimatum to Bidman to apologize to the
9:41
Senate President who led fiveman federal
9:44
government delegation to Rome to attend
9:46
the late Catholic head funeral ceremony
9:48
But immediately Vidman in a video issued
9:51
the public apology to the victims of
9:53
insecurity in the West Africa country
9:56
And in the video he further accused and
9:58
condemned the Senate President and other
10:00
Nigeria leaders for being insensitivity
10:03
to their institutional responsibilities
10:05
of protecting lives saying "In security
10:09
killing hundreds of people often in
10:11
Nigeria is as a result of leadership
10:13
failure on the part of the Senate
10:15
President and members of the Bola Ahmed
10:17
Tonubuled government And surprisingly
10:20
Deji Adanju the lawyer to the activist
10:23
said that Vid Darkman was arrested at
10:25
Guaranty Trust Bank GTB in Abuja on
10:28
Friday in a more dehumanizing manner And
10:31
after he was trapped at the exit door at
10:33
the GTB premises for 5 minutes some
10:36
security operatives came and cover his
10:38
face with a black cloth before he was
10:40
led away And for more than 48 hours
10:43
Nigeria authority is yet to issue
10:46
statement over the arrest of the human
10:48
rights activist who had on Friday went
10:50
with her mother to the GTB bank to get
10:53
clarification over the unauthorized
10:55
withdrawals constantly done on his
10:57
mother savings account after the
10:59
activist suspected that someone may have
11:01
used his mother national identification
11:03
number nin to take loan from the GTB
11:11
to bringing you the news in a more
