Justice Benjamin Lawan Manji of the Adamawa State High Court has convicted and sentenced Grace Andreas Karka, Managing Director of Bonghe Microfinance Bank, to five years imprisonment for her involvement in a ₦32 million fraud.
Karka was prosecuted by the Gombe Zonal Directorate of the EFCC on two counts of criminal conspiracy and cheating, involving ₦32,000,000.
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 ₦66,792,960.00 from Bonghe Micro Finance Bank Nigeria Limited with account number 2013668857 domiciled with First Bank Nigeria Limited by dishonestly moving the said sum without necessary approval contrary to Section 61(2) of the Adamawa State Penal Code Law 2018.”
Karka was arraigned on November 11, 2024, and pleaded not guilty to the charges, prompting a full trial.
During the proceedings, prosecution counsel Mubarak Tijani presented multiple witnesses and documents to support the case, while the defence called three witnesses.
Delivering judgment on October 17, 2025, Justice Manji ruled that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and convicted Karka on both counts.
The judge sentenced her to five years imprisonment with an option of a ₦3,000,000 fine on each count. The sentences are to run concurrently.
Additionally, the court ordered Karka to restitute ₦29,877,040 to the petitioner.
Karka’s conviction followed an internal audit conducted in 2021 by Bonghe Microfinance Bank, which revealed irregular transactions from the bank’s First Bank account. Investigations uncovered that Karka had transferred ₦32,000,000 to one Prince Moses Batalu without approval.
The bank reported that all efforts to recover the diverted funds had been unsuccessful, leading to EFCC’s involvement and her eventual conviction.