The Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission on Tuesday withdrew its application seeking to stay the
execution of a court order which unfroze the Skye Bank account of the wife of
ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience with a balance of $5.9m.
A counsel for the EFCC, Rotimi
Oyedepo, appeared before the Federal High Court in Lagos which on April 6
unfroze Patience’s account, stating that the commission had changed its mind
about appealing the unfreezing order.
He equally told the presiding
judge, Justice Mojisola Olatoregun, that the commission was withdrawing its
application seeking to stay the execution of the order.
Responding, Patience’s lawyer,
Mr. Ifedayo Adedipe, confirmed being served with the EFCC’s application to
withdraw its application for stay of proceedings.
Adedipe said in view of the
EFCC’s action, he would also withdraw the Form 48 and Form 49 he filed to cite
Skye Bank for contempt of court for not allowing Patience access to her account
in spite of the court order.
After hearing both parties
out, Justice Olatoregun granted their prayers to withdraw their respective
applications.
With the development, Patience
Jonathan now has unfettered access to her bank account.
At the instance of the EFCC
last year, Justice Olatoregun had made an interim order freezing multiple
accounts linked with Patience.
The order was pursuant to an
ex parte application by the anti-graft agency, wherein one of its operatives,
Abdulahi Tukur, had told the judge that the funds retained in the said accounts
were suspected proceeds of crime.
Tukur had told the judge that
intelligence report by the anti-graft agency necessitated that the accounts be
investigated, adding that it would be in the interest of justice that the
accounts be frozen.
The accounts, opened in the
names of companies and an individual, had a cumulative balance of
N7,418,829,290.94 (N7.4bn) and $429,381.87.
Apart from Patience’s personal
account, also affected were five companies, namely: Finchley Top Homes Limited,
Aribawa Aruera, Magel Resort Limited, AM-PM Global Network Limited, Pansy Oil
and Gas Limited.
Finchley Top Homes Limited’s
account numbered 1102001996 in Ecobank, with a balance of N226,376,700.23 and a
fixed deposit of N1,099,511,484.88 was frozen.
Similarly affected were the
company’s Skye Bank account numbered 1771731336, with a balance of
N14,173,848.85; Fidelity Bank account numbered, 4011019539 with a balance of
N1,800,494,000; Stanbic Bank account numbered, 0016901361, with a balance of
N40,594,12.88; and Diamond Bank account 0019213687 with a balance of
N39,418,712.12.
Aribawa Aruera Reachout
Foundation opened account number 1222014221 with Ecobank and has a closing
balance of N479,893,431.01, while Magel Resort Limited accounts
(4011019546/5250059782) with Fidelity Bank has a subsisting balance of
N1,000,494,000.
The company also operates a
Zenith Bank account numbered, 1011744356, which has a balance of N858,923,982,
and a Diamond Bank account numbered 0024351590 with had a balance of
N174,166,207.00.
AM-PM Global Network Limited
opened account number 0026718889 at Diamond Bank and has a balance of
N7,213,303.50.
The account numbered
4011019577 opened by Pansy Oil and Gas Limited at Fidelity Bank had a balance
of N1,809,666,494.68, while the company’s account in Diamond Bank has a balance
of N55,930,024.50.
Also affected was one Esther
Oba. Oba has a balance of $429,381.87 in her account.
The coast is now clear for the
former first lady of Nigeria, Mrs. Patience Ibifaka Jonathan, to access her
account with Skye Bank Plc, where she housed $5. 842, 316. 66M.
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