A former staff of Ecobank has allegedly landed himself and the bank in boiling soup after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, dragged both to a Federal High Court in Awka for forging a cheque and drawing down N50 million from a customer’s account.
Jossy Honnah and Ecobank are before Justice S.N Odili of the Federal High Court sitting in Awka, Anambra State on a 20-count charge bordering on forgery and stealing.
According to the EFCC, the defendant, between August 14, 2013 and May 31,2016, while being a staff of No.2, Market Road, Onitsha branch of Ecobank Nigeria Limited, fraudulently obtained his client, Vicyntel Enterprises Nigeria’s cheques and letter head papers and defrauded it to the tune of N50,315,780(Fifty Million, Three Hundred and Fifteen Thousand, Seven Hundred and Eighty Naira) .
One of the charges reads: “Ecobank Nigeria Limited and Jossy Honnah while being a staff of Ecobank Nigeria Ltd, between the 19th of January, 2015 and the 29th of December, 2015 within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with fraudulent intent did commit a felony to wit: stealing the aggregate sum of N29, 112,980(Twenty Nine Million, One Hundred and Twelve Thousand, Nine Hundred and Eighty Naira) being property of Vicyntel Enterprises and thereby committed an offence”.
Honnah pleaded not guilty to all the charges when they were read to him. The prosecution counsel, Nurudeen Ingawa asked the court for a date for the trial of the defendants.
Counsel to Ecobank pleaded with the court to allow him to make a formal application for bail at a later date while counsel to Honnah did not show up in court.
Justice Odili remanded the defendant in EFCC custody and adjourned the matter till July 6, 2021 for trial