A Nigeria businessman, Dr. Jude Ndudi has narrated before a Federal High Court Lagos, on how a former bank manager, Fidelis Egueke, allegedly threatened him and his sister, for asking for the repayment of over N480 millions, he allegedly stolen from his company’s accounts.
Egueke, who worked last as the Asaba branch manager of Zenith Bank Plc, is being prosecuted by the Legal/Prosecution department of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (ForceCID) Annex Alagbon-Ikoyi, Lagos, on 16 counts amended charge of conspiracy, fraud, unlawful conversion, obtaining money by false pretence and unauthorised withdrawal.
Justice Owoeye is the fourth judge to preside over the charge marked FHC/L/298c/2020.
At the resumed hearing of the matter last Tuesday, the businessman while being led in evidence by the prosecutor, Barrister Morufu Ajani Animashaun, told the court how the former bank manager, Fidelis Egueke, told him that his relative, Great Ogboru, who was running for governorship of Delta State, made him his finance commissioner and needed him to donate money to his campaign to cement his position as Commissioner of Finance.
The businessman, Dr. Ndudi told the court that he gave the defendant, Fidelis Egueke, the sum N20 million, to help the defendant to maintain his position as Commissioner of Finance in Great Ogboru’s future administration if he wins the election.
The businessman in his evidence before the court said: “when I told him that I will be coming to Port-Harcourt for a petition against him, he told me that myself and my sister should dress in ‘bullet proof vest’ and we should come in a ‘bulletproof vehicle’. I was shocked and I told him that I’m the same person that gifted his wife a brand new Mercedes Benz. That I’m the same person that obtained United States of America visa for him and his wife and children and paid for cruise to Caribbean. Even the suit that he was wearing the day he threatened me I bought for him.
“I told him that I would not be bully and we will meet in Port-Harcourt. I informed my wife that I’ll be heading to Port-Harcourt after explaining the situation to her, she was surprised that the defendant reneged on his agreement to pay the money back. She advised that I should do a petition and I secure the service of a lawyer who filed the petition with the AIG Alagbon-Ikoyi Lagos.”
On the petition at Alagbon, the businessman said: “around October 10 and 15, 2020, I was invited to Alagbon for my statement, on my arrival, I met the defendant already given his statement.
“When we both finished our statements, the defendant and his lawyers approached me and pleaded for settlement. They promised that once the defendant meet the bail conditions, he will proceed for settlement and pay me my money. The defendant, Fidelis Egueke, then asked how much money he stole and I told him N480 million, was missing from the company’s account, and N180 million was unaccounted for at his Zenith bank branch that I opened for my sister, Blessing Ndudi and more than N150 million for merchandise which he collected but never deposited.
“The defendant pleaded for the original agreement that we made at the initial discovery of the alleged fraud, in which he agreed to pay N15 million and paying the remaining monthly until it’s paid off. I agreed and at that point the IPO took us to the Deputy Commission Administration who advised that since the matter is already before the police, that the agreement is now between the defendant and the police.
“The defendants stated that he did not want any written agreements, because it will jeopardize his job at Zenith Bank, after we failed to reach agreement, he requested for his statement that he submitted to the police and chewed it.
On the ex-banker’ alleged fraudulent acts at zenith Bank, the businessman said: “After marrying my sister, Blessing Ndudi, the defendant said he is tired of working in Zenith Bank and pleaded to be working for my company, but my wife refused and she told the defendant that it is better he continues working for Zenith bank while his wife works with us. But the defendant kept on pressing, begging and bombarding me with phone calls for months pleading for me to allow him to work for my company.
“In November 2009, I got a phone call from his wife, she stated that she wants to file a divorce because the defendant’s pressure to work for my company is overwhelming.
“After marring my sister, I told my sister that I’ll be opening a joint account with her at First Bank, but immediately I mentioned First Bank, the defendant literally jumped up from his chair and said ‘brother, brother, why do you wants to open account with first Bank when I’m a manager in Zenith Bank’. He told me that opening accounts with his bank, is how they get bonuses and being promoted. He pleaded with me to open with Zenith Bank at his branch.
“On March 23, 2009, he brought the forms and an acct was opened, I immediately transferred N15 million from my personal account to the account he opened. On the same day the N15 million was paid into the account, the defendant withdrew N7 million and the whole N15 million within two weeks. And at the end, we lost about N180 million in that account.
“All these was discovered when we engaged the service of a forensic auditor, one Chief Ori, the auditor discovered that over N179 million was diverted directly by the defendant, Fidelis Egueke, from the company account alone.
“I also observed that in January 2012, a company that is also doing business with us, SUBEB, Asaba, paid in the company’s account N7,981,083.51 million, the same month, the defendant withdrew all the money and only left N1,000 in the account, while he deposited the money in his personal account with GTB in three tranches.”
The businessman further said: “sometimes in November 2018, the defendant called me saying that Great Ogboru is running for governor of Delta State and he had made him Commissioner of finance, and that the only problem is that Ogboru told him to donate money and he needed money, on this ‘I donated N20 million on his behalf”.
He further informed the court how the defendant fraudulently obtained another sum of N100 million loan from him.
“Towards the ending of the year, he called me again and told me that Ogboru requested for a loan of N100 million, and I should not worry how the money will be paid because he is in control of Ogboru’s N1.7bn in Zenith Bank, and also said that Ogboru has a ship fully loaded with fish in Port-Harcourt, I asked him why can’t he pay the N100 million from N1.7bn, and he said he can’t touch the money now until the fish is delivered. So I agreed to give him the loan on two conditions, one that the defendant should go to Port-Harcourt and make sure that the ship is there and that there is fish in the ship.
“The second condition is that, I will need a post dated cheque as collateral from the defendant and Ogboru. And on December 2, I left US to Nigeria to do the transaction”.
At the last hearing of the charge in July, The businessman also told the court that the defendant was his brother-in-law, but apology to say that the ‘idea of family is not there since 2020, as the defendant has not been paying his children’s school fees, feeding allowance and not taking care of the family’.
Giving evidence on the banker’s alleged fraud, the witness said: “In January 2020, I discovered that hundred millions of Naira were allegedly stole from my account and the defendant, Fidelis Egueke name were written all over in the bank statements.
“I contacted the defendant and told him that I will be going to the police but the defendant begged me not to go to the police and promised to pay what he allegedly had stolen and I agreed. Then I requested that he pay N50m down payment and pay the remaining on installments until the money is paid back. The defendant told me that he use my money to build a house in Asaba, where he’s staying, bought two lands in Asaba, built two houses in Warri and remodeled a hostel in Abraka.
“The defendant then told me that he only had N15 million for down payment which I rejected in view of the large amount of money allegedly stolen by the defendant. I turned down the N15 million, then the defendant pleaded with his wife to beg me to accept the N15 million with the promise of selling the properties to pay me back”
“After the plea, I agreed. On the next day, I told the defendant that we will have a written agreement based on what we discussed. But to my surprise, the defendant told me that he didn’t want a written agreement, that he only want an oral agreement.”
“The reason the defendant gave for not wanting the written agreement was that I can take the written agreement to the police and he will get arrested, or to his place of work and he will be sacked. I told the defendant immediately that he intends not to pay me, but he said no, he will pay me, but he didn’t want written agreement, but I insisted that the defendant give me a written agreement.”
“On the next day, the defendant told me that the amount he allegedly stole was too much and the defendant said: “he has decided and his lawyer has agreed, his family also agreed that it is better for him, the defendant, to fight me with my money and keep the rest”.
“Then I told the defendant that this is a criminal case not civil matter. I told him that if it were in America, he will be charged for theft, embezzlement, breach of trust, racketeering, tax evasion and he’ll be looking at 25 years to life imprisonment.”
“The defendant then said: “this is not America, this is not America, this is Nigeria nothing will happen. I’m a big boy, I’m a big boy. I will just hire some Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SANs) and senior lawyers to take care of the judges, this is Nigeria, nothing will happen”. I told him that whatever he’s selling to me, I am not buying it, because my father was in judiciary for 35 years.”
“I also told the defendant that I no longer believed in what he is telling me that I will file a petition at Asaba Police station since the defendant is not willing to settle with a written agreement and he is living in Asaba”.
“The defendant then told me that no police in Asaba will prosecute him, that he has been a Bank manager in Asaba for over 20 years.
The witness further told the court that: “When I look at the bank statement of Blessing Ndudi, there’s a name in the statement that N500, 000, was transferred to.
“The defendant told me that the person was a former Aide-D-Camp (ADC) to a former governor of Delta State, and when the governor left office, the person became a tactical commander with Asaba police headquarters.
“I then told the defendant that since he had now been transferred to Port-Harcourt that I would file the petition at Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.”
The former bank manager was said to have resigned his appointment with the bank after being queried on the alleged fraud and demarketing of the bank.
He was first arraigned before Justice Obiozor in November 2020, on two previous amended charges of three and 14 counts of conspiracy, fraud, unlawful conversion, obtaining by false pretence and unauthorised withdrawal.
He was again re-arraigned before Justice Ringim on August 7, 2022, on the same counts, after Justice Obiozor was transferred out of Lagos jurisdiction of the court.
However, due to the transfer of Justice Ringim to another jurisdiction, his case file was taken over by Justice Ogundare. And upon the transfer of Justice Ogundare, he was again re-arraigned before Justice Owoeye, who is currently presiding over the case.
Meanwhile, further hearing of the matter has been adjourned to March 3 and 4, 2026.
