Connect with us
Advertisement

Nigeria News

Patience Jonathan Asks court to Jail Bank MD/CEO Over Frozen Accounts

Published

on

Advertisement

File Photo: Patience Jonathan

Mrs Patience Jonathan, wife of former president Goodluck Jonathan, asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to remand the Managing Directors and Chief Executive Officers of three banks for their alleged refusal to abide by the court’s order.

The court, according to Punch, had ordered the MDs/CEOs of First Bank Plc, Skye Bank Plc and Diamond Bank Plc, Mr. Adesola Adeduntan, Mr. Tokunbo Abiru and Mr. Uzoma Dozie, respectively, to remove all restrictions placed on Mrs Jonathan’s accounts by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Advertisement

Naija News gathered that the banks denied the allegations of disobedience levelled against them by the court on December 5, 2017, saying they complied with the order after confirming the authenticity of the court’s order.

The First Bank CEO, Adeduntan said that after unfreezing the Mrs Jonathan’s accounts, the bank’s management decided to close her account and informed her to supply the details of an account into which the balance in her First Bank account could be transferred.

He said, “In response to the letters dated December 20, 2017, the bank, vide letters dated December 21, 2017, for the 11th judgment creditor/respondent for the balance in the unfrozen account if she fails to provide details of account into which the said balance should be transferred on or before January 4, 2018.

Advertisement

“In response, the 11th judgment creditor/respondent and her counsel, respectively informed the bank that the 11th judgment creditor/respondent does not have any account in her name where monies can be transferred and would prefer cash to be paid to her as the lodgments made into that account were done in cash.

“The 11th judgment creditor/respondent further wrote the bank on December 27, 2017 supplying three separate accounts of her counsel telling the bank that the said sum be paid into those three named accounts of solicitors who are third parties and the balance paid to her in cash.

“In line with the bank’s letter of December 21, 2017, upon the failure of the 11th judgment creditor/respondent and her counsel respectively to provide any account details in her name to transfer the funds in her unfrozen account, the bank, on January 17, 2018, issued in her name a bank cheque number 014602 in the sum of $3,626,273.71 (three million, six hundred and twenty-six thousand, two hundred and seventy-three dollars, seventy one cents only) representing the total balance in her account with the bank, less applicable charges.

Advertisement
Advertisement

“Further to the above, the bank also informed the 11th judgment creditor/respondent and her counsel respectively vide letters dated January 17, 2018, to visit a designated office of the bank in Abuja to pick the cheque.”

Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja had on May 30, 2017 frozen a total of 16 accounts, including 13 kept with the three banks following an application by the EFCC alleging that huge sums of money in foreign currencies suspected to be proceeds of crimes were kept in the accounts.

The first bank CEO however, filed another application on February 1, 2018, asking for among others, an order striking out or dismissing the committal proceedings.

Meanwhile, the EFCC had filed an ex parte application requesting a fresh order freezing the accounts belonging to Patience and 10 others. But Patience, through her lawyers, asked the court to dismiss the EFCC’s application.

Justice Nyako said that hearing notice was only served on the commission 24 hours before the proceedings and therefore adjourned the case till April 11 for further hearing and directed that fresh notice be served on the commission.