April 14, (THEWILL) – The council of state, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, has rejected a request for Francis Atuche, a former managing director of Bank PHB, now Keystone Bank, to be pardoned.
The council of state is an organ of the federal government, saddled with the responsibility of advising the executive on policy-making matters.
Atuche was sentenced to six years imprisonment by Justice Lateefat Okunnu, after being convicted in June 2021 for committing fraud to the tune of N25.7 billion in a trial that lasted 12 years.
According to TheCable, the name of the former bank boss was among the 162 names presented to the council of state for clemency. Unfortunately, Atuche did not make the final list of 159 offenders granted pardon by the council.
Members of the Council of State, who deliberated on the clemency list include Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo; Boss Mustapha, secretary to the government of the federation; Babagana Monguno, national security adviser; Ibrahim Gambari, chief of staff to the president; former heads of states, Yakubu Gowon, Abdusalami Abubakar, and Goodluck Jonathan.
THEWILL recalls how Atuche at some point in his banking career was considered a wizard in his field. He would later rise to the peak of his career as the managing director of Bank PHB, now Keystone Bank.
With position came influence and then money, which he had full access to.
He was not only well respected in his industry, himself and his wife, Elizabeth, courted the limelight. They were the quintessential couple, who never failed to light up any social event they stepped into together. While Francis was always dressed in some of the best designer silk suits, his wife was no less different.
From high street apparels to jewelries made from different precious stones, Elizabeth was always drenched in them. Gracing newspaper and magazine covers was like breathing to them. But what many didn’t know was that Francis and his wife were involved in money laundering, using depositors’ funds.
Shortly before he was sentenced, Atuche, who had formerly boasted that as a Catholic who was baptised in the church and one who takes the Holy Communion every day, he could not possibly be a thief because God has been gracious to him, suddenly began to plead for leniency.
“As a professional banker and chartered accountant, I don’t want to become a convict. I pray that God will place in your heart to be kind. I plead from the bottom of my heart. I’m extremely sorry, today will be a turning point in my life, I’m very sorry”, he told Okunnu.
Ivory Ukonu is a versatile journalist with many years of experience, with entertainment and society reporting as her area of core competence.
