Access Bank Acquisition Scandal…What Aig-Imoukhuede, Evelyn Oputu, Bukola Saraki, Others Must Do to Absolve Late Herbert Wigwe – Why Burden of Truth Lies on Late Banker’s Friends, Associates

– The Danger of a Single Story

Beyond the poesy and pageantry of Herbert Wigwe’s funeral, an enduring yarn situates him where votive hyacinths relay the promise of an eternal Eden.

Can Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Evelyn Oputu, Bukola Saraki, others come out to affirm or refute rumours of their alleged complicity in the misfortune that befell defunct Intercontinental Bank and its deposed head honcho, Erastus Akingbola?

Since Wigwe’s sad demise in a chopper crash alongside his wife and son, in the United States, the social space has erupted with certain uncomplimentary revelations concerning the role he played and steps he took in concert with his friends and business associates to defraud former Intercontinental Bank Managing Director (MD), Erastus Akingbola.

Amid the uproar generated by the ugly disclosures of fraudulent acts allegedly perpetrated by the late Wigwe and his business partner and friend, Aig-Imoukhuede, in concert with others, The Nation columnist, Sam Omatseye has lent his voice to the debate, urging Wigwe’s friends and associates to come out and set the records straight.

In his column of February 26, 2024, titled, ‘Before Wigwe Goes Home,’ Omatseye noted that Wigwe’s death has let out a lot of steam, especially about how Intercontinental Bank under Erastus Akingbola was dissolved in a frenetic acquisition move.

He said, “The tale was daubed a tilapia swallowing a whale, a miracle of fraud. Names were mentioned who are still alive. It is only the living in this tale that can-do credit to the departed Wigwe and restore his superfine image. If they love Wigwe, the men who have been fingered in this fantastic heist should come out and tell us their role or lack of it in this drama of Gulliver traveling over industry Lilliputians.

“Aig-Imoukhuede ought to say something, and not him alone, but also his mother in-law madam Evelyn Oputu over a mobile elixir of N50 billion that moved in and out without a stain. What of Bukola Saraki, our Eleyinmi and former governor of Kwara State and fall guy of Otoge? He has kept mum over his role in allegedly stage-managing a classic revenge after Akingbola did not oblige the saviour of his bank.” |

Is it true? What of former CBN governor Lamido Sanusi, the former Kano emir, who has greeted the buzz with uncharacteristic silence? We need Wigwe to go “gentle into that good night,” not with the stories of filth and official brigandage. Their silence is viewed by many as consent, argued Omatseye.

It would be recalled that an official of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Paul Akali, told the Federal High Court in Lagos in 2020 that Access Bank owed the now-defunct Intercontinental Bank N14.2bn as of the time it went under.

Akali, a member of the NDIC team that investigated Intercontinental Bank for regulatory infractions in May 2009, told the court that despite the N14.2bn debt, the distressed Intercontinental Bank was sold to Access Bank by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The probe and indictment of Intercontinental Bank, as well as the removal of then-Managing Director, Erastus Akingbola, happened under the watch of Lamido Sanusi as the CBN Governor.

In 2019, a former Chief Inspector with Intercontinental Bank, Abdulraheem Jimoh, revealed in court how loans granted by Akingbola to certain individuals and companies were waived.

He made the disclosure at Akingbola’s trial, when he was arraigned on an amended 22-count charge bordering on abuse of office, conversion of funds belonging to Intercontinental Bank and stealing.

Jimoh, while being further cross-examined by Wole Olanipekun, SAN, counsel to the defendant, told the court that his investigations and findings into the alleged fraud lasted about four months.

He told the court that he knew a company called United Alliance Company of Nigeria Limited that was also granted the sums of N14.5billion, N14.27billion and N10.97billion in tranches, which were not repaid.

The witness affirmed what the defence said that the directors of the United Alliance Company of Nigeria Limited were Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe, the Managing Director of Access Bank and Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede.

Jimoh also confirmed that Laide Alabi, who succeeded Akingbola, wrote off loans amounting to billions of Naira in favour of those close to him, including a former governor and current Senate President of Nigeria, Bukola Saraki.

Another interesting angle to the scandal materialized in the form of a viral post on social media after Wigwe’s demise.

In the post, the writer stated, “May Herbert’s soul rest in peace. I however look at the story of Access Bank from another prism based on my inside knowledge of what happened. The story of Access Bank can’t be complete without looking at its foundation. The money to buy Access Bank didn’t come from any investors but a loan of about N16B from Intercontinental Bank (IB) managed by Akingbola. It was Akingbola that gave them that break to buy Access. That money was never paid back. Sanusi (Aig’s school mate at KC) as the CBN governor declared IB insolvent and put it up for sale. It was offered to Aig and Access Bank for N50b. A bank that was many times the size of Access bank. A bank with 350 branches offered for such ridiculous sum. Check the records, no other bank has been so cheaply sold in Nigeria.

Access Bank didn’t have the money but Evelyn Oputu of BOI who is Aig’s mother in-law gave them the loan to buy IB. They paid the funds, took over the bank and then refunded the loan the next day. It was the biggest scam in Nigeria banking history. Of course, the N16B loan was never repaid. I want to be clear that this is not talking evil of the dead but setting the records straight. I do not hold the Access scam against Herbert personally but I can’t keep quiet when records are being misrepresented. Akingbola was literally destroyed. But all said and done, to what purpose is our rat race and wealth acquisition. May the souls of Herbert, his family and others in this accident rest in peace.”

Reacting to the narratives, a staunch loyalist and employee of the late Wigwe, Etim Etim, contended that, “The acquisition of Intercontinental Bank arose from the mismanagement of the bank, the insider abuse and the fraudulent activities perpetrated by its directors. The transaction followed all due processes according to the laws of Nigeria and was approved by the courts and the regulatory authorities. If the CBN did not find a buyer for Intercontinental, the bank would probably have gone the way of Bank PHB and a few others that were not acquired and were on continued life support from the treasury. Thus, the purchase of Intercontinental by Access saved the nation a colossal waste of resources.

He dismissed as flippant, claims that the acquisition of Intercontinental by Access Bank was akin to a ‘’tilapia swallowing a whale.”

He said, “This is a misleading and false imagery purportedly indicating that Intercontinental was bigger than Access at the time of the transaction. In the first place, the financial strength of a bank is not all about the number of branches it has and the height of its headquarter building, which the public usually sees.

“Rather, its strength is measured in terms of financial ratios, namely: efficiency ratio; profitability ratio; capital adequacy ratio; income-expenditure ratio; and deposits and return ratios. These are not visible to the public and may not be understood by those who are not financially literate. Intercontinental’s ratios were in the red when the acquisition occurred. Its huge after-tax loss of N321 billion for the year ended September 2009 was one of the biggest in the industry then. On the other hand, Access Bank was then in its tenth year after it was taken over by Herbert and AigbojeAig-Imokhuede. It was very profitable and the ratios were very positive.”

Against the backdrop of all these dramas, it has become necessary for the late Wigwe’s friends to come out and either issue a rebuttal or affirmation of the scandalous narrative concerning he and his partner’s acquisition of Access Bank.

Their continued silence, as noted by Omatseye, is translatable as an affirmation of their purported roles and complicity in the scandalous transaction.

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