By Abdulwahab Abdulah
The Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos has been urged to set aside the judgement of a Lagos High Court which discharged a former Managing Director of defunct Bank PHB, Mr. Francis Atuche of the N25.7 billion theft charge preferred against him.

The notice of appeal filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is also praying the court to re-list the case back to the High Court for fresh trial.

Discharged alongside Atuche at the lower court were his wife, Elizabeth and a former Chief Financial Officer of the bank, Ugo Anyanwu.

The trial judge, Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo while delivering judgement in the matter on June 22, 2015 upheld the arguments canvassed by the defence team including Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN) and Sylvia Ogwemoh (SAN) that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit and that the prosecution’s case lacked merit.

He held: “I find no merit in the prosecution’s application, it is hereby dismissed. The defendants application dated November 27, 2013 succeeds and I hereby make the following orders:

“The criminal charge in this suit is hereby struck out and the accused persons namely; Francis Atuche, Elizabeth Atuche and Ugo Anyawu are discharged. The complainant’s notice of plenary objection dated December 3, 2013 is hereby dismissed.”

In the appeal lodged by the anti graft body, filed by Mr. Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), it prayed for an order of the Court to set aside the order of Justice Lawal-Akapo which struck out the counts contained in the amended information dated June 1, 2011 against the respondents.
Besides, EFCC sought for an order allowing its appeal and an order directing a continuation of trial and defence before Justice Lateefa Okunnu of the High Court of Lagos State sitting in Ikeja.

The EFCC hinged its appeal on five grounds-viz- that the learned trial judge erred in law by proceeding to strike out the entirety of the amended information when by the unambiguous and plain provisions of Section 252(3) of the Constitution, no exclusive criminal jurisdiction is conferred on the Federal High Court (at least to the exclusion of the Lagos High Court) on the matters provided for under Section 251(1).