Our Report On Intercontinental Bank Not Perfect -NDIC Official

Our Report On Intercontinental Bank Not Perfect -NDIC Official

Mr. Peter Akali, the prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Dr. Erastus Akingbola, former managing director of the defunct Intercontinental Bank Plc, today, told the Federal High Court, Lagos, that the reports used by the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) and Nigerian Deposits Insurance Corporation (NDIC) on the defunct bank and removing Dr. Akingbola as the bank’s Boss were not perfect. 

Akali also told Justice Ayokunle Faji led-court that as at the time the bank was taken over by the CBN and NDIC,  it was not a failed of failing bank.

Akali, an official of Nigerian Deposits Insurance Corporation (NDIC) made the assertions while being cross examing Professor Taiwo Oshipitan (SAN) counsel to Dr Akingbola. 

“Our report is not perfect,  our report cannot be error free, if our report achieved 75 percent we’re good. But we tried as humanly possible to minimise errors”.

The former Intercontinental Bank Plc boss, is being tried by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on the allegation of granting “unsecured credit facilities” worth billions of naira to different companies, among others.

According to EFCC, the alleged offence violates Section 14 (1) of the Money Laundering Act of 2004.

The EFCC witness also confirmed to the court that the 12 recommendations in his team’s Special Examination Report, did not includes criminal prosecution of Dr. Akingbola. 

Akali, when asked by Professor Oshipitan (SAN) if a copy of the report was given to Dr. Akingbola or if he came across any document showing that NDIC or CBN sent the report to Akingbola, he replied that it is not his responsibility to do so.

The witness who had at last proceedings told the court that his team report did not recommend Dr. Akingbola’s removal as the bank’s CEO and taking over of the bank by CBN and NDIC. He however told the court today, that the decision to remove the CEO and take over of the bank may not solely based on his special examination team’s report. 

He said: “our report is not only what the CBN and NDIC relied on to makw their decision. They usually also use other sources to arrive on their decision

“They could use an offsite report, CBN discount window, bank’s supervision report and others, but I don’t know if offsite report was used in this case”.

When confronted with a copy of his team’s report which has been admitted by the court, to explain the meaning of ‘P’ in each column of the document,  the witness said the ‘P’ means ‘performing’, indicating that loans allegedly taken by some top customers of the Bank still performing as at time the bank was taken over.

Though, Akali explained that focus of the column despite been marked ‘P’ was to show top hundred users of funds and not necessarily an analysis to confirm that the loans are performing.