#EndSARS: CBN During Military Dictatorship Never Froze Activists’ Bank Accounts – Falana

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana SAN, has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria to stop freezing the bank accounts of protesters and activists in Nigeria.

Falana in a statement released on Wednesday said it is “infringement on the fundamental right to fair hearing and property” for the bank to freeze bank accounts of protesters.

He further stated that during the military regime, it never happened that the CBN froze the accounts of protesters.

He said, “On November 4, 2020, the CBN approached the Federal High Court for an ex parte order to freeze the bank accounts of#EndSARS protesters. The CBN asked for 180 days to investigate the #EndSARS protesters for the offences of money laundering and terrorism.”

“Convinced that the CBN was telling the truth, the court ordered that the bank accounts be frozen for 90 days. Since the #EndSARS protesters did not commit any offence whatsoever, the CBN did not investigate them until the ex parte order expired on February 4, 2021.”

“It was on the basis of the expiration of the ex parte order that the case of the CBN was struck out by the Federal High Court today.”

“It is pertinent to recall that during the dark days of the military dictatorship in Nigeria, those of us in the front line of the battle for the restoration of democratic rule in Nigeria were routinely arrested and detained under the obnoxious State Security (Detention of Persons Decreed) No 2 of 1984. But we regained our liberty on the orders of courts that acted as guardians of the civil rights of the Nigerian people even when judges were required to blow muted trumpets.”

“In desperation, the military dictators charged us with sundry criminal offences, including a treasonable felony for having the temerity to challenge their corrupt practices and human rights abuse. But the courts ensured that we were admitted to bail in liberal terms.”

“Our passports were impounded at the airports and confiscated by the National Security Organisation (now State Security Service) to prevent us from travelling abroad to expose the atrocities of the dictators. But the passports were released to us on the orders of our courts.”

“It is on record that the Central Bank of Nigeria, which was then manned by professional bankers, never filed an ex parte application to freeze our accounts. Let the CBN stop freezing the bank accounts of activists because it constitutes a gross infringement on the fundamental right to fair hearing and property. If the CBN does not desist from the illegal practice, our courts should turn down frivolous applications for freezing the bank accounts of activists and other citizens.”

Recall that the order to freeze the bank accounts linked with some promoters of the #EndSARS protest has been set aside by a Federal High Court in Abuja.

In a ruling on Wednesday, Justice Ahmed Mohammed ordered all concerned banks to immediately unfreeze the affected accounts.