An Enugu State High Court on Monday struck out a suit filed by a former Sterling Bank manager, Oliver Anidiobi, who sought to recover properties confiscated after he was convicted for stealing N219 million belonging to Ohha Microfinance Bank.
Anidiobi, who was sentenced to eight years imprisonment in 2021 and later granted state pardon by Governor Peter Mbah in December 2024, had approached the court asking for the return of assets acquired with the proceeds of the crime.
The properties had been ordered forfeited and sold to compensate Ohha Microfinance Bank after his conviction.
Despite serving three years in prison before receiving executive clemency, the former bank manager returned to court a few months after his pardon, seeking to reclaim the assets linked to the fraud.
The suit, marked E/911M/2025, listed the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ohha Microfinance Bank Ltd, the Enugu Attorney-General, Chairman of the Prerogative of Mercy, and the Chief Registrar of the High Court as respondents.
Anidiobi was prosecuted after Ohha Microfinance Bank petitioned the EFCC, accusing him of diverting N219 million fixed-deposit funds while he served as Sterling Bank branch manager in Enugu.
Following trial, Justice Cyprian Ajah convicted him in November 2021 and ordered the forfeiture of three properties traced to the stolen funds. His conviction was later upheld by the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, in September 2023.
However, at the resumed hearing of his fresh suit on Monday, Anidiobi’s lawyer, C.F. Oziri, applied to withdraw the case.
Counsel to the respondents — Olu Omotayo for Ohha Microfinance Bank, EFCC’s Michael Ani, and D.C. Odugu for the Enugu Attorney-General — did not oppose the withdrawal.
Justice Ajah subsequently struck out the matter.
“In view of the no-objection by the respondents, the suit is hereby struck out,” the judge ruled.
The move ends Anidiobi’s latest legal effort to repossess the assets tied to the financial crime, which investigators and courts at two levels confirmed he committed.
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