Cecilia Ibru (born 22 March 1946) is the former managing director and chief executive officer of

Oceanic Bank Oceanic Bank International, commonly referred to as Oceanic Bank, was a bank in Nigeria that provided individual, commercial and corporate banking services. History Oceanic Bank was incorporated on March 26, 1990, as a private limited liability ...

.Online Nigeria
"Cecilia Ibru"
''Online Nigeria'', Accessed December 9, 2012. Ibru began her work at the Ibru Organization. In 2009, she was arrested and pleaded guilty to charges of fraud. She was jailed and fined approximately one billion euros.She’s sleek and a fighter; tale of a rogue Nigerian billionaire
October 2009 The Nation, Retrieved 23 February 2016 She lost her husband, Michael Ibru in September 2016.

Early life and education

Born to Edward and Victoria Sido Yes, Ibru attended Saint Margaret’s Grammar School in

Ilesa Ilesa () is an ancient town located in the Osun State, southwest Nigeria; it is also the name of a historic kingdom (also known as Ijesha) centred on that village. The state is ruled by a monarch bearing the title of the Owa Obokun Adimula of Ij ...

from 1960 to 1965 along with her twin Lucy and studied at University Tutorial College in London from 1967 to 1968.Aitec Africa
"Dr. Cecilia Ibru, Oceanic Bank, Nigeria"
''Aitec Africa'', Accessed December 9, 2012. She graduated from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

in 1971 with a BS in sociology. Ibru pursued her graduate studies at the university and received a Masters of Philosophy from the

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury ar ...

in 1977.McKinsey Quarterly
"Leading a developing-market bank: An interview with the CEO of Nigeria’s Oceanic Bank"
''

McKinsey Quarterly The ''McKinsey Quarterly'' is a business magazine focused on management and organizational theory. It is written primarily by McKinsey McKinsey & Company is a global management consulting firm founded in 1926 by University of Chicago professor ...

'', Accessed December 9, 2012.

Career

In 1978, Ibru joined the Ibru Organization as project director. After two years in this role, Ibru went on to serve as international finance coordinator, a position she held until 1990. Ibru began working with Oceanic Bank in 1990 as general manager. After seven years with Oceanic, she was promoted to managing director and CEO. Oceanic began as a small family-owned bank, but grew into one of the Nigeria’s largest publicly quoted institutions during Ibru’s stewardship. On 13 August 2009 Ibru was amongst five bank CEOs who were dismissed. Five replacements were named by the

Central Bank of Nigeria The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the central bank and apex monetary authority of Nigeria established by the CBN Act of 1958 and commenced operations on 1 July 1959. The major regulatory objectives of the bank as stated in the CBN Act are ...

. The deputy governor,

Sarah Alade Sarah Alade was the acting governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria during the suspension of Lamido Sanusi until his tenure ended. She was appointed to the post by President Goodluck Jonathan on 20 February 2014. Alade was appointed acting gover ...

, announced that John Aloh would replace Ibru at Oceanic. Others replaced on the same day included the CEO of the

Union Bank of Nigeria Union Bank of Nigeria Plc is a commercial bank in Nigeria. It has been operating in Nigeria since 1917. Overview Union Bank is a large commercial bank, serving individuals, small and medium-sized companies, as well as large corporations and orga ...

, Dr. Bath Ebong, who was replaced by

Olufunke Iyabo Osibodu Olufunke Iyabo Osibodu or Funke Osibodu is a Nigerian banker who led Ecobank Nigeria and the Union Bank of Nigeria. Life Funke Osibodu was born in January 1959. She attended the University of Ife and the Harvard Business School. ...

.CBN sacks 5 Banks Directors
Gabriel Omoh and Babajide Komolafe, 14 August 2009, VanguardNGR, Retrieved 23 February 2016 Ibru appeared in court alongside three other senior banking executives in Nigeria. They all denied charges that they were involved in a multibillion-dollar banking scandal. She was sentenced on 8 October 2010 on 25 counts of fraud and ordered to reimburse 1.29bn (approximately one billion Euros,
TheWillNigeria and she was ordered to serve six months of prison. Anti-corruption police brought criminal charges against executives from five banks rescued in a 400bn naira ($2.6bn; £1.6bn) government bail-out. All the banks were found to have low cash reserves because of bad loans. Ibru had extended credit facilities of 16 billion NAIRA to a company who had no collateral. The court confiscated over 100 properties from her in Nigeria, Dubai and the United States.

Michael and Cecilia Ibru Foundation

Ibru created th
Michael and Cecilia Ibru Foundation
in 2006, which donates money to support vocational training, elderly care, health programs, disease prevention, and food production..She founded the Michael and Cecilia Ibru University in 2015 in Agbarha otor Delt
State

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibru, Cecilia Nigerian chief executives Living people 1946 births Alumni of SOAS University of London Ibru family