Former Chief Executive of Oceanic Bank, Mrs. Cecilia Ibru, has been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment by a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos...

Former
Chief
Executive
of
Oceanic
Bank,
Mrs.
Cecilia
Ibru,
has
been
sentenced
to
18 months imprisonment by a
Federal High Court sitting in
Lagos.

Mrs. Ibru had earlier pleaded
guilty to a three-count
charge of granting reckless
loans, and not making sure
that the balance of the bank
represents its true financial
state in reports sent to the
Central Bank of Nigeria
[CBN].

The sentence will however
run concurrently, meaning
she will be spending only six
months behind bars.
In addition she is to forfeit
assets worth 191 billion
Naira comprising property in
the US, Dubai and Nigeria,
and shares in over 100 firms,
both listed and unlisted.

The Judge also ruled that she
is to return to Reddinghton
Hospital in Lagos where she
is receiving treatment for a
chronic cardiac ailment
Her conviction is coming
after she changed her plea of
not guilty to a 25 count
charge, to guilty following an
agreement reached with the
Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission [EFCC]
to forfeit part of her assets
in exchange for a lighter
sentence.

Mrs Ibru and four other bank
chief executives were fired
by CBN last year for granting
reckless loans, allowing
margin lending exposure to
get out of hand and failing to
declare the true state of the
banks.

After recapitalising the
banks, the CBN went ahead to
appoint new CEO�s to run
the banks.

The conclusion of Mrs Ibru�s
case now leaves four other
CEO�s who are currently
facing trial.

They are Mr Erastus
Akingbola of Intercontinental
Bank, Okey Nwosu of Finbank,
Sebastian Adigwe of Afribank
and Batholomew Ebong Of
Union Bank.