Former FCMB manager, Nwachukwu Placidu jailed 121 years for fraud

Nwachukwu Placidus, a former manager at First City Monument Bank in Onitsha, has been sentenced to a cumulative 121 years behind bars due to his involvement in fraudulent activities. The court determined him guilty of siphoning N112.1 million from a customer’s fixed deposit funds for his own personal enrichment.

According to a statement by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Saturday, Placidus was brought before Justice S. N. Odili of the Anambra State High Court on Tuesday, March 27, 2018. He faced a total of 16 charges, including forgery, theft, obtaining by false pretense, and uttering.

The case originated from a complaint by the bank, alleging that during his tenure as branch manager of FCMB in Onitsha, Placidus received funds for a fixed deposit but failed to deposit them as claimed. Upon investigation, the EFCC discovered that he had diverted the money for his personal use and provided the bank with a counterfeit fixed deposit certificate. Consequently, he has been handed a lengthy prison sentence and will serve time in a correctional facility.

One of the charges against him stated, “Nwachukwu Placidus, between February 2009 and November 2014 in Onitsha, Anambra State, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of N112,100,000 from Idemili Microfinance Bank under the false pretense that you have placed the said money in a fixed deposit account with First City Monument Bank PLC, which pretense you knew to be false, thereby committing an offense.”

Placidus pleaded not guilty to the charges presented against him. Throughout the trial, the EFCC, represented by its counsel, Mainforce Adaka Ekwu, presented four witnesses and submitted several pertinent documents as evidence.

In the judgment, Justice Odili sentenced Placidus to nine years imprisonment for one count, four years for another, and nine years each for the remaining counts. He was acquitted on two counts, with the sentences to be served concurrently.