The Lagos state high court, presided over by L.A. Okunnu, a judge, has discharged Thomas Etuh of complicity in the money laundering charges preferred against Francis Atuche and Ugo Anyanwu.
The discharge order, which was made on September 21, 2021, followed an application by Etuh and others who were earlier erroneously thought to have played a part in the alleged money laundering activities of the former managing director of BankPHB.
But following the submission of evidence and necessary particulars necessary for their discharge, the court, having considered the affidavit evidence, ruled that Etuh and the others have been discharged and released from the effects of the earlier orders.
On August 21, 2021, the court ordered the freezing of assets and funds amounting to N19,178,253,050 allegedly kept in 24 banks by Francis Atuche, the convicted former Managing Director of the defunct Bank PHB.
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Okunnu, the judge, who convicted the banker in June, made the order sequel to an August 17 application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Charge No. ID/1549/2011 between the Federal Government on the one hand and Atuche and Ugo Anyanwu as first and defendants.
The court, in that ruling, also mentioned Etuh and 15 others, as role players in the charges preferred against Atuche and Anyanwu.
But by its latest discharge order, the court has fully absolved Etuh of any complicity in the crimes allegedly committed by the convicted bankers.
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Commenting on the discharge order, Etuh, who is the Chairman of TAK Agro Group expressed delight at the development, saying it has restored his integrity as a business man.
He expressed his confidence in the capacity of the Nigerian judiciary to protect every segment of the Nigerian population, irrespective of social strata.
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