Former Bank Heads Want Court To Stop Prosecution By EFCC

The Chief Executive Officer of Falcon Securities Limited, Peter Ololo on Thursday urged a Federal High Court in Lagos to quash the criminal charge brought against him and others by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Mr Ololo is facing an amended twenty-count charge before the court alongside former Managing Director of Union Bank,  Batholomew Ebong.

Others facing trial longside Messrs Ebong and Ololo are former Union Trustees MD, Henry Onyemem and former Union Bank Executive Directors – Samuel Ayininuola and Niyi Opeodu.

The accused were said to have conspired to grant and obtain fraudulent loan, and other banking malpractices.

On Thursday, Mr Ololo’s lawyer, Osaro Eghobamien  moved the application to quash the charge against his client.

The lawyer stressed that a combined reading of the witness statements constituting the proof of evidence upon which the charge was filed would show that there was no sustainable case against Ololo.

He said the charge created an offence which was unknown to statute, and as such same was void abnitio. Trial judge, Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia fixed March 22 (Friday) for the reply of EFCC to Ololo’s application.

The charge sheet alleged, among others, that:

�Ebong and Ayininuola sometime in November 2007 granted N30.477 billion loan to Falcon Securities through Union Trustees without security.

�Ebong, Onyemem, and Ololo between 2007 and 2008 caused and created a misleading appearance of active trading in the securities of Union Bank by using the said N30.477 billion loan to buy over 600,000 units of Union Bank shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

�They granted reckless loans to a number of companies, including Union Capital Markets, Damnaz Cement Company, and Springboard Trust and Investment.

Mr Ebong is among the bank MDs removed by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Lamido Sanusi, in the wake of the banking reforms.