N57m Fraud Trial: Bank Officer Exonerates Businesswoman, Oluremi Phillips As Signee of Alleged Dud Cheques

Mrs Oluremi Ebun-Phillips: Access Bank officer says her photo and signature not on the Mandate Card of Omritas Energy Limited’s corporate account with the bank

A witness has admitted under oath that businesswoman and Managing Director of Omritas Energy Limited, Mrs Oluremi Ebun-Phillips did not sign the cheques allegedly presented to AYM Shafa Limited meant for the repayment for Automotive Gas Oil not completely supplied.

Giving evidence in Justice Ismail Ijelu of Ikeja Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos State, southwest Nigeria on Tuesday, a senior officer of Access Bank, Mr Chibueze Chukwuma of the department of Conduct and Compliance disclosed while being cross examined by the defence counsel, Akin Olatunji, that the signature on the four cheques allegedly presented to the Complainant, AYM Shafa Limited, was not of the defender.

Ebun-Phillips, and her company, Omritas Energy Ltd, are standing trial in the court on a five-count charge bordering on stealing and issuance of dud cheques to the tune of N57, 690,000.00.

She was alleged to have fraudulently converted the sum of N57,690,000.00, property of AYM Shafa Limited meant for the supply of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), which was not completely supplied.

Ebun-Phillips had earlier in her evidence told the court that the N57,690,000.00 represented the AGO AYM Shafa refused to load due to crash in price at Omritas Energy Limited’s nominated depot in Akwa Ibom State.

One of the counts reads: “Oluremi Ebun Philips and Omritas Energy Limited, sometime in 2016 at Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, fraudulently converted and stole the sum of N57,690,000.00, property of AYM Shafa Limited meant for the supply of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), which you failed to supply.”

Another count reads: “Oluremi Ebun Philips and Omritas Energy Limited, on or about the 10th of April 2017 at Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, knowingly issued a Diamond Bank cheque for the sum of N14, 298,075.00 payable to AYM Shafa Limited, which when presented for payment was dishonoured on the grounds that no sufficient funds were standing to the credit of the account.”

However, in his evidence on Tuesday, the Access Bank staff said there is only one signatory on the account with his bank which is that of Oluwasegun Johnson Omodele Phillips, the chairman of Omritas Energy Limited, which is also on the Mandate Card.

When the defence counsel presented the questionable cheques to the banker in the court, Chukwuma disclosed that the signatory on the cheques are the same with the one on the Mandate Card, hence it was not Oluremi Ebun-Phillips that signed the cheques.

On the reason the cheques were not honoured by the bank upon presentation by AYM Shafa, the banker said the amount on the cheques violated the threshold of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which stipulates that cheque above N10 million should not be honoured by any bank in Nigeria no matter the huge amount of money that might be inside the account.

The EFCC’s lawyer, Miss N.C. Mutfwang in her own cross examination wanted to establish the fact that on each day the four cheques were to be presented to the bank, there was insufficient fund in the account, which the banker admitted to be so.

Meanwhile, the case has been adjourned to 3 June 2024 for the defence counsel to present his last witness.