Ex-Bank Manager Allegedly Threatened Businessman, Sister Over N175m Fraud – Court Hears

Dr. Jude Ndudi, a Nigerian businessman, told a Federal High Court in Lagos about how he and his sister were reportedly threatened by Fidelis Egueke, a former bank manager, after they demanded the return of more than N480 million that he said was missing from his company’s accounts.

Egueke, a former Asaba branch manager, is on trial for a 16-count amended charge brought by the Force Criminal Investigation Department Annex’s Legal and Prosecution Department in Alagbon Ikoyi, Lagos.

Conspiracy, fraud, unlawful conversion, acquiring money under false pretenses, and unauthorized withdrawal are all included in the charges.

The case is designated FHC/L/298c/2020, and Justice Owoeye is the fourth judge to hear it.

Dr. Ndudi described how the defendant allegedly asked him to support the political campaign of his relative, Great Ogboru, who he claimed had promised to make him Commissioner of Finance if he won the Delta State governorship election, during the resumed hearing last Tuesday. The prosecutor, Morufu Ajani Animashaun, led Dr. Ndudi in testimony.

Dr. Ndudi informed the court that he provided the defendant N20 million because the defendant claimed that if the politician won, it would assist him get the position of Commissioner of Finance in Ogboru’s future administration.

The witness stated: “He advised me and my sister to wear bulletproof vests and arrive in a bulletproof vehicle when I informed him that I would be traveling to Port Harcourt for a petition against him. Startled, I informed him that I was the same guy who had given his wife a brand-new Mercedes. that I am the same guy who paid for a Caribbean trip and secured visas to the United States of America for him, his wife, and their kids. I even purchased him the outfit he was wearing the day he threatened me.

He went on, “I told him that we would meet in Port Harcourt and that I would not be bullied.” I explained the problem to my wife and then told her that I would be traveling. She was taken aback when the defendant broke his promise to reimburse the money. I should draft a petition, she suggested. After that, I hired a lawyer to file the petition with the AIG at Alagbon.

According to the witness, he was asked to deliver a statement at Alagbon between October 10 and 15, 2020. When he got there, the defendant was already making a statement.

“The defendant and his attorneys came up to me after we had both finished our remarks and begged for a settlement. They assured me that the defendant would proceed with a settlement and reimburse me for my money after he fulfilled his bond requirements. I told the defendant that N480 million was missing from the company’s account, N180 million was missing from the account made for my sister Blessing Ndudi, and more than N150 million was for products that he received but never deposited when he inquired how much money he had stolen.

He claims that the defendant appealed for a return to a previous arrangement wherein he had promised to pay N15 million up front and settle the remaining amount on a monthly basis. The witness consented, but the investigating police officer later told them that any arrangement would be between the police and the defendant because the case was now before the police.

The defendant claimed that any written agreement would put his employment at Zenith Bank in jeopardy. He asked for and chewed the statement he had given to the police when we couldn’t agree, Dr. Ndudi told the court.

The witness went on to say that once he married his sister, the defendant started pressuring him to work for his company, but his wife opposed the idea.

He said that in November 2009, his sister called him to express her desire for a divorce due to the defendant’s excessive pressure to work for his company.

According to Dr. Ndudi, the defendant opposed his plan to open a joint account for his sister at First Bank, insisting that the account be opened with his bank in order to improve his performance and chances for advancement. He claims that on March 23, 2009, the defendant brought the account-opening documents and then deposited N15 million into the new account.

“The defendant took out N7 million and the full N15 million within two weeks of the money being deposited into the account on the same day.” We ultimately lost almost N180 million in that account,” he stated.

He continued by saying that Chief Ori, a forensic auditor, subsequently found that the defendant had taken more than N179 million out of the corporate account.

“In January 2012, a company that also does business with us, SUBEB Asaba, paid N7,981,083.51 into the company’s account,” the witness further stated in court. Only N1,000 remained in the account after the defendant took out all of the funds that same month. He then made three separate deposits of the funds into his GTB personal account.

He further stated in his testimony that at some point in November 2018, the defendant called to inform him that he was running for his state’s Commissioner of Finance position and that he required money. “On his behalf, I donated N20 million,” he declared.

Dr. Ndudi remembered another instance in which he was purportedly lent N100 million by the defendant.

Dr. Ndudi told the court during a prior hearing in July that although though the defendant was his brother-in-law, “the idea of family is no longer there since 2020.” He also mentioned that the defendant had stopped providing for the family’s needs, including paying his children’s school tuition and food allowance.

“In January 2020, I discovered that hundreds of millions of naira were allegedly stolen from my account and the defendant’s name appeared throughout the bank statements,” the witness stated on the alleged theft.

He claimed that when he approached the defendant, the latter promised to reimburse the money and pleaded with him not to go to the police. “The defendant informed me that he built a house in Asaba, purchased two properties in Asaba, constructed two homes in Warri, and renovated a hostel in Abraka using my money.”

He continued by saying that when he insisted on a written agreement, the defendant claimed he preferred an oral one because a written one would be used to have him arrested or fired.

“The amount I allegedly stole is too much and I have decided, and my lawyer and family agreed, that it is better for me to fight you with your money and keep the rest,” he claims the defendant subsequently stated.

According to the witness, he informed him that he could be imprisoned for 25 years to life in America if he was accused of theft, embezzlement, breach of trust, racketeering, and tax evasion. According to the witness, “He responded that this is Nigeria and nothing will happen and that he would hire Senior Advocates of Nigeria.”

He continued by saying that the defendant assured him that since he had been a bank manager in Asaba for more than 20 years, no Asaba police officer would prosecute him.

Additionally, he claimed that when he confronted the defendant about a N500,000 payment he observed in Blessing Ndudi’s bank statement, the defendant claimed the receiver was a former ADC to a prior governor who went on to become a tactical commander at Asaba police headquarters.

“I then told the defendant that I would file the petition there since he had now been transferred to Port Harcourt,” the witness stated.

After being questioned about the alleged fraud and for demarketing the bank, the defendant reportedly resigned from the bank.

On previously modified allegations of three and fourteen counts, he was initially arraigned before Justice Obiozor in November 2020. On August 7, 2022, he was re-arraigned before Judge Ringim following the transfer of Justice Obiozor. The matter was transferred to Justice Ogundare and is currently before Justice Owoeye after additional judicial transfers.

The next hearing has been postponed until March 3 and 4, 2026.