Ezenwa is currently suing FBN for unfair dismissal at the National Industrial Court in Lagos, claiming she was wrongly terminated on October 5, 2016, without explanation, over her supposed involvement in fraudulent loan disbursements, according to a statement of fact seen by TheCable.
Adesuwa Ezenwa, a former relationship manager at First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), has alleged that billions of naira in loans were diverted to companies linked to Chief Oba Otudeko, the bank's then-chairman, under the guise of other firms.
Ezenwa is currently suing FBN for unfair dismissal at the National Industrial Court in Lagos, claiming she was wrongly terminated on October 5, 2016, without explanation, over her supposed involvement in fraudulent loan disbursements, according to a statement of fact seen by TheCable.
Following her sacking, Adesuwa Ezenwa was summoned to appear before a credit disciplinary committee investigating loans granted to Supply and Services Ltd, a subsidiary of Royal Ceramics Group.
Although the committee cleared her of direct involvement, Ezenwa alleged unfair reprimand for not reporting certain transactions approved by her superiors, including group head Mr. Olatunji and Executive Vice President Mrs. Cecilia Majekodunmi.
Ezenwa argued that the reprimand was unjust, as she was not in a position to report her superiors, particularly since some loan facilities were unsecured and benefited companies with significant financial ties to the bank's chairman, Chief Oba Otudeko, and former Managing Director, Mr. Bisi Onasanya.
"The individuals to whom these reports would have been made were the very ones responsible for the misconduct," her statement to the court read.
She further claimed that the questioned facilities were approved and disbursed under the supervision and authority of her group head and executive vice president, but were disguised as loans issued to other unsuspecting customers.
In one instance, Ezenwa described how "unsecured facilities" worth approximately N12 billion were granted to a company in which Oba Otudeko had substantial investment.
However, it was alleged that the loans were falsely represented as being granted to the Stallion Group of Companies, which later discovered the discrepancy and protested the false entries in its account statements.
An unsecured credit facility refers to a loan provided to businesses without requiring collateral.
In another case, she revealed that an "unsecured facility" of N2 billion was granted in 2012 to Broadwaters Resources Company Nigeria Ltd, which she described as a conduit used by Majekodunmi and Onasanya to siphon funds from the bank.
According to the court filings, this loan was never repaid.
The documents allege that out of the N12 billion purportedly lent to the Stallion Group, N8.21 billion was transferred through various accounts to a company named V TECH LTD, which is owned by Oba Otudeko, while N4.45 billion was diverted to Ontario Oil and Gas. These facilities remain unpaid.
Ezenwa further alleged that the questionable transactions were not isolated incidents, but rather part of a larger pattern of misconduct by top bank management, for which she was being unfairly penalized.
She pointed out that the loans purportedly granted to the Stallion Group were just one example of a broader trend, where similar facilities were repeatedly issued by Mr. Olatunji and Mrs. Majekodunmi to other customers, including Supplies and Services Ltd, a subsidiary of Royal Ceramics Group, over the years.
It was alleged that the funds were later redistributed in smaller amounts to various customers on more favorable terms for both the officers and the customers, including companies like Swap Technologies and Telecomms Plc, Netconstruct Nigeria Ltd, Orbit Cargo, and High Performance Distributions Ltd.
Ezenwa stated that some of these transactions are currently under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and their findings will be used in court.
Given the magnitude of the loans, Ezenwa argued that the bank’s board must have been complicit in the transactions, which exceeded the approval limits of the executive directors, vice president, and managing director.
TheCable sought comment from Oba Otudeko regarding the allegations, but he has not yet provided a response. Meanwhile, some FBN Holdings shareholders have recently expressed concerns after Otudeko's Honeywell Group acquired an additional 4,770,269,843 units of FBN Holdings' shares, increasing its stake in the bank to 13.3% and sparking protests.
Following the acquisition, Ecobank wrote to FBN Holdings, advising the bank to reject Otudeko's bid to become its largest shareholder.
Additionally, in July, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched an investigation into Otudeko's purchase of 4.77 billion FBN Holdings shares.
The findings of this investigation have yet to be made public.