Ex-Zenith Bank manager accuses GTBank, police of colluding with estranged wife to destroy his life

A former manager with Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Fidelis Egueke, has accused officers of the Nigeria Police Force and Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) of conspiring with his estranged wife, Mrs. Blessing Uju Egueke, and her brother, Dr. Jude Ndudi, in what he described as a four-year campaign of persecution and financial sabotage.

According to Sahara Reporters, Egueke made the allegations in a petition addressed to legal reform advocate and human rights lawyer, Barr. Mike Igini, where he detailed how the police, GTBank, and his estranged wife’s family allegedly worked together to “destroy his life, career, and reputation” through false accusations, unlawful arrests, and economic strangulation.

Seeking urgent intervention from the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, the judiciary, and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Egueke said his situation had become unbearable, as he had lost nearly everything defending himself.

“I have run out of resources and am currently in debt while defending myself against these evil and malicious cases. I can no longer cope with the financial resources required,” he lamented.

In a 15-page petition titled “Gross Oppression and Injustice by Dr. Jude Ndudi and Blessing Uju Egueke in Collaboration with Officers of the Nigeria Police Force and Guaranty Trust Bank to Incapacitate and Destroy Mr. Fidelis Egueke,” the former banker accused the parties of carrying out a coordinated campaign to ruin him.

According to him, his ordeal began in October 2020 after Dr. Ndudi petitioned the police, alleging that he stole ₦150 million from Global Select Investment Services Ltd, a company jointly owned by him and his estranged wife.

Egueke recounted that on October 12, 2020, policemen from the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Alagbon, Lagos, invaded his home in Asaba, Delta State, in what he termed a “commando-style operation.” He said he was arrested and held without access to his family or lawyer until October 31, 2020.

“I was locked up in Alagbon without access to anyone. I nearly died of an asthma attack before inmates rushed me to the Police Hospital in Ikoyi,” he narrated.

He alleged that Ndudi, fully aware of his health challenges, intended for him to die in custody at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While still detained, Egueke said his estranged wife changed the locks to their home and filed for divorce, later obtaining a restraining order from an Anambra court (Suit No. OT/2WD/2021) that prevented him from accessing his property.

When he sought police assistance to regain entry into his home, he said his wife secured another court order barring him from returning, effectively shutting him out of both his home and the case.

Egueke’s subsequent appeal to the Chief Judge of Anambra State for a transfer of the matter was rejected.

While he remained in custody, Dr. Ndudi allegedly wrote a petition to Zenith Bank Plc, accusing Egueke of fraudulently transferring ₦186 million and engaging in unauthorized loans. Following this, the bank dismissed him from service.

He was later arraigned before the Federal High Court, Lagos, in Charge No. FHC/298C/2020, accused of converting ₦179.4 million from the company’s account between 2010 and 2019.

Egueke denied the allegations, insisting that the company’s account was domiciled with GTBank and jointly operated by him and his estranged wife. He also said that a letter from Do Crest Chambers, dated October 28, 2020, described the money as a loan, contradicting the police charge of theft.

“Even after seeing that letter, which proved it was a civil matter, the police still charged me with stealing,” he lamented.

He also claimed that part of the funds Ndudi referred to as stolen was a ₦100 million loan he had advanced to Fiograt Ltd, backed by a written loan agreement.

Court documents in Suit No. LD/ADR/3722/2021, he said, later confirmed that Ndudi acknowledged under oath that the sum was a friendly loan. Judgment was entered in Ndudi’s favor, and the firm repaid ₦110 million.

Despite this, Egueke said the police ignored the evidence and continued to prosecute him while GTBank acting on a questionable Banker’s Order froze his accounts.

He alleged that the order, supposedly issued by a court in Oyo State on March 19, 2020, was never confirmed as genuine, yet GTBank placed a no-debit restriction on his accounts from October 2020 till date.

A Lagos High Court ruling on February 15, 2022, reportedly found GTBank in violation of his rights, ordering the bank to unfreeze his accounts and awarding damages. However, he said the bank ignored the order, relying instead on a subsequent ex parte order obtained by police investigators in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/420/2022.

In February 2022, after yet another adjournment of his criminal trial, he was intercepted by EFCC officials outside the court over similar allegations. His lawsuit against the EFCC and the complainants (Suit No. FHC/L/CS/383/2022) was later dismissed, with a cost of ₦750,000 awarded against him.

He further alleged that in April 2023, following another petition by Dr. Ndudi to the AIG, Zone 5, Benin City, armed officers stormed his cousin’s residence in Warri, accusing him of mismanaging ₦15 million meant for a land deal.

The court, in Suit No. W/91/FHR/23, later ruled in his favor, describing the complainants’ actions as a “gross abuse of judicial process” and awarded damages.

Despite that judgment, Egueke said his accusers filed another petition in September 2023, alleging he failed to repay $46,900 supposedly given for childbirth expenses in the United States.

He was charged before an Asaba Magistrate Court (Charge No. CMA/17C/2024) and convicted despite a no-case submission by his counsel. However, the Delta State High Court (Appeal No. DTHC/ASB/CRA/1/2025) overturned the conviction, declaring his arrest and prosecution unlawful and holding that the dispute was civil, not criminal.

Egueke claimed that the Delta State Commissioner of Police has since appealed that ruling, which he described as proof that the police are determined to destroy him.

He said he has sent petitions and evidence to the NHRC, the IGP, the Police Service Commission, and other authorities, but none has acted.

“The police, who are supposed to protect citizens, have become tools in the hands of my accusers. I have lost my job, home, savings, and reputation. I am drowning in debt defending myself in multiple courts,” he wrote.

Egueke appealed for public awareness and urged the Inspector-General of Police to withdraw the appeal in Appeal No. DTHC/ASB/CRA/1/2025 and the criminal charge in Charge No. FHC/L/298C/2020, describing the cases as malicious.

“I have run out of resources and can no longer cope. I beg for your help to expose these injustices and save my life, my children, and the integrity of the Nigerian state,” he pleaded.

When contacted, Charles Eremi, a spokesperson for GTCO’s Corporate Communications Unit, declined to comment, saying the matter is sub judice since it remains before the court.