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Exposed: How SW8 Limited Fraudulently Acquired Wema Bank with Skye Bank Guarantee

June 10, 2010
Human Right activist and Lead Counsel appointed by the authentic Board and Management of Wema Bank Plc, Dr. Paul Obianaso has exposed the shady deal in the acquisition of Wema Bank Plc by SW8 Investment Limited. Obianaso revealed that his earlier position that SW8 Limited did not bring capital to Wema Bank since its purported acquisition has confirmed by the desperation with which it is seeking a new investors- foreign or local to buy Wema adding that the what SW8 Limited is doing in Wema is looting and illegal conversion of Wema Assets adding that SW8 actually bought Wema Bank with a Skye Bank Guarantee as against injection of real capital.
“It is only in Nigeria that this kind of massive fraud will be aided and abetted by all the regulatory authorities. CBN under Soludo was manifestly corrupt and aided all the rots in the banking sector today. What Soludo and Tunde Lemo did in Wema Bank with the support of about three South West Governor using Odua Group was pure stealing and executive armed robbery.’’

He said further, “We warned the general public about SW8 Investment Limited which purported to be core investors upon their criminal arrival at Wema Bank. See page 32 of The Nation Newspaper of Friday June 26th 2009. We called them impostors and fraudulent corporate invaders. Above all, it has been our contention that SW8 did not bring any capital to Wema Bank. Now, we have been vindicated! If not, how can a core investor be looking for a core investor in less than one year of taking over a bank as a core investor? We challenge SW8 to make public verifiable evidence showing how much they brought to Wema Bank.  The SW8 team has posted billions in losses since arriving Wema on a looting spree. So, why should anyone with clean funds put their money in the custody of fraudsters parading as bankers?”

“We challenge the CBN to tell the whole world whether or not it accepted a bank guarantee from Skye Bank, to enable SW8 take over Wema instead of insisting that new funds be brought in. We call on the EFCC, ICPC and other law enforcement agencies to conduct an investigation to ascertain the true owners of SW8 Investment Ltd and question their sources of funds since SW8 was incorporated with just a share capital of N10m on August 28, 2008, three days before Omoyeni was scheduled to return to Wema Bank. This must be done if we are serious about fighting corruption in Nigeria. The whole world is watching. Wema has become an acid test. There must be no hiding place for ‘wonder bankers’’.


Further investigation on the Wema Bank saga has revealed that SW8 Investment Limited used First Bank money assetted in Skye Bank as a guarantee to illegally acquired Wema Bank.

It would be recalled that the current impostor/GMD in Wema Bank, Mr. Segun Oloketuyi was an Executive Director in Skye Bank. Otunba Gbenga Daniel, one of the big masquerades behind SW8 Investment Limited is a major shareholder of Skye Bank following the merger of his erstwhile Bond Bank with other Banks that formed Skye Bank.

Other real owners of SW8 Investment Limited using Oloketuyi and cohorts as fronts are the Ibadan Business Club big men, Chief Samuel Bolarinwa, the current Chairman of Wema Bank, Chief Samuel Adegbite, former MD of Wema Bank and Mr. Oba Otudeko, the current Chairman of First Bank Plc. Otudeko was former accountant of Cooperative Bank where he also became a major shareholder. Cooperative Bank is one of the banks that merged to become Skye Bank after the Soludo induced consolidation. Others are Mr. Tunde Lemo, former MD of Wema Bank and current Deputy Governor in CBN, Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and Former Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Agagu and Professor Charles Soludo.

In an advertorial published in Thisday on Monday 7th, June 2010 the legal luminary said all actions and appointments taken by CBN on Wema Bank and the illegal removal of its Group Managing Director, Mr. Adebisi Omoyeni after the January 10th, 2008 Federal High Court, Enugu gave an Order that status quo should be maintained until the suit is determined were illegal, null and void.

He noted that all the so-called appointments of the lackeys of Professor Charles Soludo and Tunde Lemo as Acting Managing Directors by CBN to oversee the bank and the subsequent illegal sales of the bank to the cronies of Tunde Lemo, Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Osun State Governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola and their collaborators in the business circle were illegal.

Obianaso reasoned that it was strange that a competent court of jurisdiction will give an order followed by a Presidential Directive and a letter by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice that CBN and NDIC should obey court order and also reinstate Mr. Omoyeni as GMD of Wema Bank yet the Soludo/Tunde Lemo led CBN disobeyed and sold a 65 years old premier institution, a common patrimony of Yoruba people to their cronies.

“The Hon Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) in a letter dated 15th January, 2008 with reference No: HAGF/CBN/2008/Vol 1/1 advised the CBN and NDIC to obey the Federal High Court ORDER, not to take any step on Wema Bank pending the determination of the suit. By a letter with reference no. SGF.45/VII/989 dated 28th February 2008; the Secretary to the Government of the Federation conveyed the directive of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that Omoyeni should be reinstated. The CBN disregarded the court order and Presidential directive and has been on rampage over Wema Bank behaving as though Nigeria is some lunatic enclave where everyone does as he pleases, without regard to the laws of the land.”

To compensate Mr. Godwin Abboh and Mr. Lai Alabi for the hatchet job done in handing Wema Bank over to SW8 Tunde Lemo ensured that the two of them were appointed Managing Directors of Oceanic Bank and Intercontinental Bank respectively after the summary dismissal of about eight bank MDs by the current CBN Governor, Mr. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

Further investigation into the malfeasance in Wema Bank during the CBN/NDIC induced and stage managed crisis also revealed that for working for about 8 months before handing over Wema Bank to SW8 Investment Limited, Mr. Lai Alabi went away with two brand new Toyota Landcruiser jeeps and a whopping N85million while the other two CBN appointed Directors went with a brand new Toyota Land cruiser jeep and N50million respectively as severance package.

Warning any investor whether local or foreign not to allowed themselves to be deceived by the dubious character parading as owners of Wema Bank, Obianaso said there are pending court cases on the real ownership and management of Wema Bank adding that the court cases involving Mr. Omoyeni and other shareholders of the bank are not mere ‘’employer-employee’’ matter contrary to the dubious claim of SW8 Investment Limited in their paid advertorial.

“The court cases involving some shareholders of Wema Bank and the ones bordering on the unjust removal of Mr. Adebisi Omoyeni are not mere ‘employer-employee’ matter. They deal with fundamental issues about ownership and management of Wema Bank. No amount of grandstanding will save SW8” said Obianaso.  


THE FULL ADVERTORIAL AS PUBLISHED IN THISDAY NEWSPAPER OF MONDAY JUNE 7TH, 2010

WEMA BANK: RESPONSE TO A REJOINDER

OVER THE PUBLIC NOTICE ON ILLEGAL PLAN TO SELL WEMA BANK TO FOREIGN AND LOCAL INVESTORS

Our attention has been drawn to a REJOINDER as captioned above, which was published in ThisDay Newspaper of Thursday, May 20th 2010, page 13, by one Chief A. Ben Anachebe, SAN who falsely claimed to be Lead Counsel to Wema Bank. We believe the publication under reference is mischievous and misleading.

Following a Board Resolution dated 30th June 2006, Wema Bank Board by a subsequent board resolution dated 8th October, 2007 appointed DR. PAUL C. OBIANASO ESQ--DR. PAUL C. OBIANASO & CO (Justice & Equity Chambers) as the external Legal Advisers/Solicitors to WEMA BANK. We challenge Anachebe to produce a Board Resolution contrary to the ones under reference which predates that of 30th June 2006 and 8th October 2007 respectively.

After our appointment by the Board, Wema Bank Management issued series of Mandate Letters to us to act on its behalf. We were issued mandate letters dated October 8th 2007 and January 7th  2008,  to represent Wema in over ten matters including Suit No: FHC/EN/CP/4/2007 filed by minority shareholders, namely: Chief Sunday Nnamdi Nwosu (President, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria) Adebayo Adeleke, Alhaja S. Kudaisi and others, at the Federal High court, Enugu. By a letter dated December 5th 2007, we were appointed ‘Solicitor’ to the Wema bank Proposed Public Offer/Rights issue. We challenge Chief Anachebe to produce a letter appointing him in that capacity which predates our own appointment. ‘First in time is first in law’. Besides, SW8 Investment Limited cannot appoint a lead counsel for Wema Bank by reason of their illegitimacy and fraudulent position. The court cases involving some shareholders of Wema Bank and the ones bordering on the unjust removal of Mr. Adebisi Omoyeni are not mere ‘employer-employee’ matter. They deal with fundamental issues about ownership and management of Wema Bank. No amount of grandstanding will save SW8.  

A perusal of the Court ORDER in the pending suit under reference shows that we and not Anachebe were in court on behalf of WEMA BANK. Efforts made to brief OTHER lawyers including Ben Anachebe SAN, after the ORDER of court dated 10th January 2008 are all illegal, null and void and would be so held by the courts. The courts would only recognize the Board and Management that were in place at Wema Bank, as at the date the order was made preserving the status quo. Any purported appointments or approvals by the CBN who is a party in the suit cited above, during the pendency of the suit, without leave of court, will be set aside completely. The recent Supreme Court decision in the case of Longe vs. First Bank should serve as a lesson. Again, we challenge Anachebe to produce any instrument of appointment or mandate issued to him or anyone else before the court order of January 10th 2008, in the capacities cited above.

We know he cannot produce any such documents. So, how could he purport to be the lead counsel for Wema? The Wema Bank case has witnessed an avalanche of Rhapsody of absurdities, orchestrated by a few Senior Advocates of Nigeria, who seem to be speaking in mortally inaudible tongues, which are so bizarre, extremely dangerous and unknown to any judicial-language-lexicon. The CBN has become a sort of institutional ‘locus classicus’ in its obnoxious tendencies to disobey court orders and undermine judicial proceedings and pronouncements.

If not, we cannot be witnessing the level of tragic absurdities where, by their actions (in conspiracy with some SANs who speak oddities that are outside judicial language parameters), the CBN has been acting like an invading army, tearing down financial institutions without regard to due process and judicial proceedings. They don’t even care about the investing public. Companies and Allied Matters Act and its provisions mean nothing to them. The level of lawlessness at the CBN is raising some fundamental questions. If the CBN is not checked, they may hasten the collapse of our national economy. How can an individual wake up and destroy what many others have worked for over the years, because he is invested with some over bloated powers smuggled into the CBN Act.

In the publication under reference, Chief Anachebe alleged that Adebisi Omoyeni was removed from office for ‘perceived misdeeds’ but could not mention any. The fact is that, Omoyeni was cleared of all allegations made against him as reflected in Police Special Fraud Unit Investigation report dated May 26th  2008, reference number: CR 3000/X/SFU/FMIU/VOL 9/116.  The CBN on its part, after signing an MOU on August 25, 2008 with Omoyeni for his return, curiously turned around to allege that Omoyeni forcefully took over the Bank on September 2nd 2008. Again, this allegation has been debunked as reflected in the report of the Inspector General of Police dated, November 7th 2008, reference No: CB 3960/X/LEG/FHQ/ABJ/VOL 38/108. In this report, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) stated categorically that  Omoyeni’s removal was unlawful, as there was no attempt to forcefully take over Wema bank. The IGP stated that the Police was deceived by Prof Soludo as CBN Governor, to prevent Omoyeni from continuing in office as provided by the MOU. It has now become obvious that what was done was intentionally done to pave way for SW8.  

It is instructive to note that, a petition was also written against the undersigned (at the instigation of one shameless and corrupt SAN) to the Nigeria Bar Association, urging the NBA to discipline him on some trumped-up, false, vexatious, and worthless allegations that he is not counsel to Wema and had assisted Omoyeni to forcefully take over headquarters of Wema Bank. After an exhaustive thorough investigation, the NBA came to the conclusion that the allegations made by one Biodun Ogunlade esq were false and malicious. This is reflected in the NBA Report vide a letter dated February 24th 2008. The finding of the NBA made nonsense of the allegations by the CBN.  One wonders: is there an evil oath taken by some people to disenfranchise the shareholders of Banks, while unleashing economic terror on the long suffering Nigerian people and the Nigerian economy by extension?


The Hon Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) in a letter dated 15th January, 2008 with reference No: HAGF/CBN/2008/Vol 1/1 advised the CBN and NDIC to obey the Federal High Court ORDER, not to take any step on Wema Bank pending the determination of the suit. By a letter with reference no. SGF.45/VII/989 dated 28th February 2008; the Secretary to the Government of the Federation conveyed the directive of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that Omoyeni should be reinstated. The CBN disregarded the court order and Presidential directive and has been on rampage over Wema Bank behaving as though Nigeria is some lunatic enclave where everyone does as he pleases, without regard to the laws of the land.




For unleashing a Gestapo type trauma of equa-gecimal proportions on Nigerians, through the fraudulent banking reforms which hyped the prices of shares artificially and ultimately resulted in a massive crash, we described Prof Soludo as a professor of  ‘voodoo-economics’. His ultra novo brand of impure and applied-econome-tricks is akin to demonic medieval metaphysics, where figures are conjured up and made to disappear in a twinkle-type-mesmerism.

We gave a warning to all GMD/CEOs of Banks and other financial institutions in Nigeria in a full page publication in the National Mirror Newspaper of September 6th 2008. We made a graphic prediction that unless the GMDs of banks came together to fight this injustice on a common platform, that, someday, the way Mr. Jeremiah Adebisi Omoyeni was illegally, unceremoniously and criminally shoved aside from a Bank he had served for more than 20 years, without a single query, rising to become the GMD/CEO by dint of hard work and God’s grace, meant there was danger ahead.  Trust Nigerians. They ignored the warning. Well, today is here and yesterday has become history. Things have so badly fallen apart, the centre cannot hold and things will never be the same, ever again, in Nigeria’s banking sector.

WARNING ABOUT WEMA BANK’S PROPOSED AGM, PRIVATE PLACEMENTS, RIGHTS ISSUE AND PUBLIC OFFER BEING BANDIED ABOUT BY THE LAWLESS IMPOSTORS KNOWN AS SW8 INVESTMENT LTD

We have the firm instructions and mandate of the authentic WEMA BANK BOARD AND MANAGEMENT KNOWN TO NIGERIAN LAWS TO STATE AS FOLLOWS:

The CBN has been acting with impunity since January 10th 2008. That was the day a competent court of Jurisdiction gave an ORDER that status quo should be maintained in Wema Bank affairs. The CBN has no powers to do anything about Wema bank except the court grants leave for such acts, while the matter is pending.

The proposed AGM, PRIVATE PLACEMENT, PUBLIC OFFER, RIGHTS ISSUE ETC are illegal and must be avoided by all who do not wish to become members of a lawless gang of corporate invaders bogged down by a criminal contraption which has now become a burden.

All potential investors ( whether local or foreign) are hereby warned that there shall not be any protection whatsoever under Nigerian laws for anyone who ignores this warning and invests in Wema Bank while there are suits pending in different law courts.  Money launderers who want to hide their ill gotten wealth in Wema bank, we urge you to look elsewhere. We shall trace the sources of your funds and one day you will be made to answer hot questions that may result in criminal prosecution and eventual imprisonment. So, be warned!  Don’t become a fugitive from Justice. The long arms of the law will eventually catch up. BE WARNED!


We warned the general public about SW8 Investment Limited which purported to be core investors upon their criminal arrival at Wema Bank. See page 32 of The Nation Newspaper of Friday June 26th 2009. We called them impostors and fraudulent corporate invaders. Above all, it has been our contention that SW8 did not bring any capital to Wema Bank. Now, we have been vindicated! If not, how can a core investor be looking for a core investor in less than one year of taking over a bank as a core investor? We challenge SW8 to make public verifiable evidence showing how much they brought to Wema Bank.  The SW8 team has posted billions in losses since arriving Wema on a looting spree. So, why should anyone with clean funds put their money in the custody of fraudsters parading as bankers?

We challenge the CBN to tell the whole world whether or not it accepted a bank guarantee from Skye Bank, to enable SW8 take over Wema instead of insisting that new funds be brought in. We call on the EFCC, ICPC and other law enforcement agencies to conduct an investigation to ascertain the true owners of SW8 Investment Ltd and question their sources of funds since SW8 was incorporated with just a share capital of N10m on August 28, 2008, three days before Omoyeni was scheduled to return to Wema Bank. This must be done if we are serious about fighting corruption in Nigeria. The whole world is watching. Wema has become an acid test. There must be no hiding place for ‘wonder bankers’.

We reject the criminal attempt to acquire a 65 years old premiere banking institution by a faceless cabal known as SW8. We seek to know how a company incorporated in August 2008 with just 10 million Naira share capital could wake up and become owners of a bank with about 200 branches. No wonder why they are throwing the bank’s employees into the cold labour market without the least care that the employees have laboured in the bank over the years.


SIGNED:

PAUL C. OBIANASO, LLB., BL., B.Sc.,M.Sc.,MLA.,MBA.,DPS.,DCWM.,PhD.
(Chief Criminologist, Capital Market Solicitor, Security & Counter Terrorism Expert)
For:

DR. PAUL C. OBIANASO & CO
(Justice & Equity Chambers)  
 Head Office:                               Branch Offices:             
OBIANASO COURT                   15, Allen Avenue             Suites 9-12 Treasure Plaza
Udo-akpu-enyi Law Centre        Ikeja, P.O.Box 128,        39, Ojodu-Abiodun Road        
Oghalegbu Okija                        Oshopey Plaza, Allen     Ifo Local Govt Area
Ihiala Local Govt Area              Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos      Ogun State, Nigeria
Anambra State, Nigeria            Email: paulpesh @yahoo.com                

 










 

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