By Joseph Onyekwere :
A former bank manager, Fidelis Egueke, has been convicted and sentenced to six months in prison by an Asaba, Delta State Chief Magistrate’s Court for defrauding a victim of $46,900 through false pretences. Chief Magistrate, Callistus Isioma Moeteke, found Egueke guilty of a single charge brought against him by the police.
The charge was filed by the prosecutor, Raphael Ogechi Eze, of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Asaba Police Headquarters, Delta State, under case number CMA/295c/2024.
According to the prosecutor, Egueke, a former manager at Zenith Bank Plc, Asaba branch, fraudulently obtained $46,900 by using two Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) as collateral.
One of the land titles, however, was not his, and the other was fake. After receiving the money, Egueke used it for personal expenses and failed to repay the victim as promised.
The prosecution argued that Egueke’s actions violated Section 419 of the Criminal Code Law, Cap C21, Vol.1 Laws of Delta State, Nigeria, 2006. Despite his denial of the offence, Egueke failed to present evidence of repayment during the trial.
Following a thorough review of the evidence, Chief Magistrate Moeteke determined that the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Egueke was convicted and sentenced to six months imprisonment. However, the court also gave him the option to pay a fine of N350,000 in lieu of serving the prison term.
Additionally, the court ordered Egueke to pay N30 million in restitution to the victim within six months of his conviction. While he has paid the fine, he has yet to fulfil the restitution order.
The charge against Egueke stated that, in 2016, he had fraudulently obtained a credit facility worth $46,900 (approximately N60 million) from Dr Jude Ndudi by presenting false documents, including land titles that did not belong to him, in violation of Section 419 of the Criminal Code Law.
Egueke is also facing trial before a Lagos Federal High Court on charges related to a separate fraud case involving N179.498 million. He is being prosecuted by the Force Criminal Investigation Department (Force CID), Annex Alagbon-Ikoyi, Lagos, under the leadership of Justice Alexander Oluseye Owoeye.