Court Convicts Bonghe Microfinance Bank MD to Five Years Imprisonment for ₦32m Fraud
Justice Benjamin Lawan Manji of the Adamawa State High Court, sitting in Yola, has convicted and sentenced the Managing Director of Bonghe Microfinance Bank, Grace Andreas Karka, to five years’ imprisonment for offences bordering on criminal conspiracy and cheating involving the sum of ₦32,000,000 (Thirty-Two Million Naira).
The conviction followed her prosecution by the Gombe Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a two-count charge.
One of the counts alleged that between August 2020 and March 2021, Karka and one Prince Moses Batalu conspired to dishonestly transfer the sum of ₦66,792,960.00 from Bonghe Microfinance Bank’s account domiciled with First Bank Nigeria Limited, without requisite approval. The offence contravenes Section 61(2) of the Adamawa State Penal Code Law, 2018.
Upon arraignment on 11 November 2024, the defendant pleaded not guilty, thereby necessitating a full trial. During proceedings, prosecution counsel Mubarak Tijani called witnesses and tendered documentary evidence, while the defence presented three witnesses.
Delivering judgment on 17 October 2025, Justice Manji held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. Consequently, the court convicted Karka on both counts and sentenced her to five years’ imprisonment, with an option of a ₦3,000,000 fine on each count, the sentences to run concurrently.
In addition, the court ordered the convict to restitute the sum of ₦29,877,040 (Twenty-Nine Million, Eight Hundred and Seventy-Seven Thousand, Forty Naira) to the petitioner, being the outstanding balance of the misappropriated funds.
The case originated from an internal audit conducted by Bonghe Microfinance Bank in 2021, which uncovered irregular transfers to an account not belonging to any customer of the bank. Further investigation revealed that Karka, then Managing Director, had diverted ₦32,000,000 to Prince Batalu without approval. Efforts by the bank to recover the funds proved unsuccessful, prompting the petition to the EFCC.
