A former manager at First City Monument Bank (FCMB) in Onitsha, Nwachukwu Placidus, has been sentenced to a total of 121 years in prison for his involvement in fraudulent activities.
The court found him guilty of misappropriating N112.1 million from a customer’s fixed deposit funds for his personal benefit. According to a statement from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) released on Saturday, Placidus was arraigned before Justice S. N. Odili of the Anambra State High Court on March 27, 2018.
Facing 16 charges, including forgery, stealing, and obtaining by false pretenses, the case originated from a complaint by the bank. It was alleged that while serving as the branch manager of FCMB in Onitsha, Placidus accepted funds for a fixed deposit but failed to remit them as claimed. An investigation by the EFCC revealed that he had diverted the funds for personal use and produced a fake fixed deposit certificate.
One of the charges detailed that Placidus, between February 2009 and November 2014, obtained the sum of N112,100,000 from Idemili Microfinance Bank under false pretenses, claiming he had placed the money in a fixed deposit account at FCMB.
Despite pleading not guilty to the charges, the EFCC presented four witnesses and several documents during the trial, all of which were admitted as evidence.
In delivering the judgment, Justice Odili sentenced Placidus to nine years for one count, four years for another, and nine years each for the remaining counts. He was acquitted on two counts, with all sentences running concurrently.