jamal 
Mrs Phillips
The Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos has overturned the conviction and prison sentence imposed on Lagos businesswoman and socialite, Mrs. Oluremi Ebun-Phillips, over allegations bordering on stealing and issuance of dud cheques worth N57.69 million involving AYM Shafa Limited.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Thursday by a three-member panel led by Hon. Justice Yargata Nimpar, the appellate court faulted the prosecution of the matter by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), describing the dispute as essentially civil in nature rather than criminal.
The court consequently nullified the earlier judgment delivered in December 2024 by Justice I.O. Ijelu of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, which had convicted Mrs. Phillips and sentenced her to two years imprisonment in connection with the cheque transaction.
Delivering the judgment virtually, Justice Nimpar held that the procedures required by law for the presentation of the disputed cheque were not properly followed by officials of AYM Shafa Limited before initiating criminal proceedings.
The appellate court stated that the complainant failed to comply with the legal requirement of proper notification from the issuer before presenting the cheque to the bank.
“The law provides that the issuance of such a cheque must be properly notified before it is presented at the bank. The appeal succeeds and the conviction is hereby set aside,” Justice Nimpar declared.
Justice Nimpar held that after reviewing the submissions of counsel and the issues formulated for determination, the court found that the dispute between the parties stemmed from a commercial transaction that lacked any criminal element.
“This was essentially a civil transaction without any criminal element whatsoever,” the court held, adding that the respondent wrongly transformed the matter into a criminal prosecution.
In compliance with the Rules of Court, both parties exchanged briefs of argument, with the appellant formulating five issues for determination, while the respondent raised a sole issue.
After considering the arguments of both parties, the appellate court resolved all the issues in favour of the appellant.
The judgment was unanimously supported by Justice Senta and Justice Kwaha, who both concurred with the lead judgment.
With the ruling, Mrs. Oluremi Ebun-Phillips has been discharged of all criminal allegations arising from the transaction.
