Skye Bank MD Olumide Olatunji Contradicts Self While Giving Evidence in Case Against Debtor
Olumide Olatunji, Managing Director of Skye Bank Sierra Leone yesterday continued giving evidence before Justice Eku Roberts, in the High Court of Sierra Leone. He had previously been led in evidence by his counsel and was started to be cross examined on Monday 17 December 2011.
Shortly after being sworn to the Holy Bible, the defence lawyer asked the Managing Director to confirm the total amount of money the defendants had paid to the bank in settlement of the loan which they had earlier received. After a long uncertain pause, the Managing Director, Mr Olatunji, stated that the defendants had repaid about Le106,000,000 (One hundred and Six Million Leones) in total. He confirmed that the payments had been made by the 2nd accused on behalf of the 1st accused.
At this point the judge interrupted to ask Skye Bank’s solicitors why Skye Bank had given the court the impression that the defendants had not made any payments at all in settlement of the loan. The lawyer replied that the point they were trying to make was that the defendant had not made any payments after a particular date. The judge asked why they had not mentioned that the defendant had made some prior payments, and the lawyers for Skye Bank admitted that they had been silent on the previous payments made by the defendant.
Solicitors for the defendants pressed forward in their cross examination by confirming from the Managing Director, that they defendants had paid a further fifty three million (Le53,000,000) into the account in settlement of the debt. Further than that they had also paid an additional forty million Leones into the account (Le40,000,000). The Managing Director confirmed both statements.
The defendant’s lawyers pointed out that the statement therefore made by Skye Bank in paragraph 7 of their affidavit, stating that the defendants had refused to settle the debt or any part thereof, was false and misleading to the court.
Court commentators point observed that such misleading information has in the past led to the high court judges taking the wrong action, including arresting and detaining defendants, before the true facts actually come to light.
In a completely unrelated development, for conniving, with three staff of Skye Bank Nigeria, to defraud the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS of about $500,000, a chartered accountant, Mr. Abayomi Sofolayan, is to spend three years behind bar. Sofolayan was handed three years jail verdict without an option of fine, by Justice Abimbola Obaseki,- at Markurdi Federal High Court, Tuesday, 7 December 2010 after he pleaded guilty to a 12 count charge of forgery, fraudulent diversion of cheques, conspiracy and nine other related charges.
Abdulai Kamara, Freetown
Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!
© 2011, https:. All rights reserved.
