(L-R) Mbanugo Udenze, company secretary, C&I Leasing Plc; discussing with A.D Bello, chairman at the 19th annual general meeting of the company in Lagos.

ERASTUS Akingbola and Francis Atuche erstwhile managing directors and chief executive officers of Intercontinental Bank Plc and Bank PHB respectively, last week insisted that they will never canvass for any plea bargain arrangement with their prosecutors, stressing that they are not guilty of any of the offences preferred against them. They vowed to continue the legal battle with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to its logical conclusion.
This stance was contained in their separate reaction to last week’s sentencing of Mrs Cecilia Ibru, former chief executive officer of Oceanic Bank Plc, to 18 months imprisonment by a Federal High Court, Lagos, consequent upon her plea bargain agreement with her prosecutors.
Chief Felix Fagbohungbe (SAN), counsel to Akingbola, stated categorically that his client “can never enter into any bargain because he has not committed any of the offences preferred against him in the first place.”
Dr. Nnamdi Dimgba of Punuka Chambers, counsel to Atuche, Okey Nwosu, former managing director of FinBank and Sebastine Adigwe, former managing director of Afribank, also boasted that the federal government has no case against his clients that would warrant going into any plea bargain.
According to Dimgba, the alleged offences against his clients are quite different from others as they don’t bother on embezzlement of funds but only on improper keeping of their respective banks’ records.
On whether his client would toe the line of Ibru so that the case could be brought to its conclusion as soon as possible, Fagbohungbe emphatically said: “No, never, we cannot settle for a thing like that. Other accused bank chiefs may plead guilty if they feel that they have committed an offence, but for my client, his case is different and will never plead guilty.” He insisted that there are clear evidences to support his client’s claim.
In his comment, Rotimi Jacobs, counsel to EFCC, said he cannot determine whether other bank chiefs who are standing trial would go for a plea bargain or not. According to him, it all depends on each of them.
Referring to Ibru, he said the agreement that led to her conviction was brokered between the prosecution and the accused person, adding that what is more important to Oceanic Bank is its assets that have been wrongly acquired by the accused person rather than her going to prison for a longer term.
Ibru was convicted on a three counts charge  preferred against her by EFCC for recklessly approving a credit facility to the tune of $20 million and N2 billion to various companies without adequate security. She pleaded guilty to the three counts and was convicted accordingly by Justice Dan Abutu, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court.