Bank Manager Sentenced to 5 Years Over N32m Fraud

The Managing Director of Bonghe Microfinance Bank, Grace Andreas Karka, has been convicted and sentenced to five years’ imprisonment by Justice Benjamin Lawan Manji of the Adamawa State High Court.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in a statement, said Karka was prosecuted by its Gombe Zonal Directorate on two counts of criminal conspiracy and cheating involving the sum of N32,000,000.

Karka pleaded not guilty when arraigned on November 11, 2024, and the matter proceeded to full trial in which both prosecution and defence called witnesses.

One of the charges reads:

“That you Grace Andreas Karka and prince Moses Batalu between August 2020 and March 2021 in Yola, Adamawa State within the jurisdiction of this honourable court did agree amongst yourselves to do an illegal act to wit theft in the sum of N66,792,960.00 from Bonghe Micro Finance Bank Nigeria Limited with account number 2013668857 domiciled with First bank Nigeria limited by dishonestly moving the said sum without necessarry approval contrary to Section 61(2) of the Adamawa State penal Code Law 2018.”

During the trial, the prosecution counsel, Mubarak Tijani, called witnesses and tendered several documents while the defence called three witnesses in response.

Delivering judgment on October 17, 2025, Justice Manji found that the prosecution had proved the case beyond reasonable doubt, convicted Karka on both counts and sentenced her to five years’ imprisonment.

The judge offered an option of N3,000,000 on each count; the sentences are to run concurrently.

The court also ordered that Karka should restitute N29,877,040 to the petitioner.

According to the EFCC, the matter began in 2021 after an audit by Bonghe Microfinance Bank of its First Bank Nigeria Limited accounts revealed irregular transfers to an account holder who was not a customer.

Subsequent checks established that N32,000,000 had been transferred to one prince Moses Batalu without the necessary approval and that the bank’s attempts to recover the funds had been unsuccessful.