Former First Lady, Patience Jonathan, has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to commit the Chief Executive Officers of three major banks – First Bank, Skye Bank and Diamond Bank – to prison for their persistent refusal to obey the court order that lifted the embargo placed on accounts linked to her.
Already, forms 48 and 49 which are legal process of initiating the imprisonment for flouting court order have been served on Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of First Bank; Tokunbo Abiru, CEO Skye Bank, and Uzoma Dozie, MD/CEO, Diamond Bank.
In a motion on notice brought pursuant to order 3 rule 1 of the Federal High Court, Jonathan, through her counsel, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), is praying the court to commit the three bank chiefs to prison for deliberately refusing to comply with court order that embargo placed on the 16 bank accounts be lifted since December last year.
The ex-first lady is also seeking an order of the court striking out a purported ‘ex parte originating summon’ filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), praying for forfeiture of all funds in the various bank accounts in the three banks to the federal government.
In a 20 paragraph affidavit in support of the motion, it was averred that the EFCC had on May 30, 2017, obtained an exparte order granted by Justice Binta Nyako, freezing all bank accounts traced to Mrs. Jonathan, her families and business interest.
The order made in respect of FHC/ABJ/CS/821/2016 was however to last for 90 days when the anti-graft agency was expected to have completed all investigations in respect of the bank accounts.
The affidavit deposed to by one Chinedu Maduba, a legal practitioner in the law firm of G.I. Abibo (SAN) indicated that the order placed on the bank accounts through the EFCC exparte motion was vacated in December 5, 2017, when the 90 day life span of the exparte order expired and vacated by the same Justice Nyako.
The affidavit indicated that the embargo order on the bank accounts was not renewed or extended by the court in favour of EFCC.
Mrs. Jonathan and other applicants in the motion on notice claimed that all efforts to make transaction in the three banks in compliance with the December 5, 2017, order of the court de-freezing the accounts were resisted by the chief executive officers of the three banks.
The affidavit further indicated that upon enquiry on why transactions were not allowed in the bank accounts in compliance with court order, Mrs. Jonathan and other applicants were said to have been told that EFCC had filed exparte originating summon praying for the forfeiture of all monies in the accounts.
Governor Willie Obiano Receiving Former President His Excellency Goodluck Ebele Jonathan accompanied by his wife, Former first Lady, Her Excellency Dame Patience Jonathan as their Helicopter landed inside Fed Poly Oko, to attend the burial of Late Elder States Man Chief Dr Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme GCON (Ide Anambra)...
Can you see the Humility of Governor Willie Obiano as he greets The Former President!!!
Anambra Nwere Madu.
#AduiePaEkwueme
Mrs Patience Jonathan, Nigeria's ex First Lady, said the acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr Ibrahim Magu, wrote a letter to the British High Commission in Nigeria, asking the British Government not to issue her with a visa.
According to Punch Metro, Patience said this in a petition written by her lawyers, Granville Abibo (SAN) & Co. which was addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara.
Patience said the British Government subsequently investigated her and found her not wanting and thereafter issued her with a visa.
The petition, which was signed by G.I. Abibo (SAN), read in part, “In February 2017, the EFCC through its acting Chairman, Mr Ibrahim Magu, made a spurious report against our client to the United Kingdom authorities and other international bodies – all in a grand design to forestall the renewal of her visa and other travel documents.
“The allegations against our client by the EFCC were duly investigated by the UK authorities and other international bodies who found the reports baseless and thereupon issued the visa and other travel documents to our client.”
Patience said the EFCC had gone after her relatives including her older brother, Chief Aseminaso Kalama, for no just cause.
Besides, Mrs Esther Oba, Patience’s relative, had also been declared a person of interest by the commission for allegedly operating a bank account with $429,381.87 (N135,255,289.05) for the former President’s wife.
Patience said the Nigeria Police Force and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency had also joined the EFCC in intimidating and harassing her family, adding that the three agencies had searched her properties at least five times.
She added, “On November 3, 2016, the EFCC physically raided and attacked the premises of our client and her relations situated at 2 Igbeti Street, Maitama, Abuja, in the absence of the occupants of the house, carting away valuable items.
“On November 30, 2016, the same premises were raided by the officials of the NDLEA with a lorry load of over 50 operatives under the guise of searching for drugs kept in the house. This raid was carried out in the absence of the occupants of the said house. Our client’s house was broken into and vandalised.
“On January 4, 2017, the EFCC again broke into the said house claiming to be looking for foreign currencies stashed therein. This was done in the absence of the occupants of the house and without any search warrant. The operatives raided the house and took away whatever they fancied.”
The anti-graft agency commenced investigation on Patience in March 2016. Although she had never been invited by the commission, several bank accounts linked to her with a total sum of about N15bn had been frozen while properties worth about N3bn had been seized by the commission.
All attempts to speak with the spokesman for the EFCC, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, proved abortive as he did not respond to repeated calls put through to his telephone.
A hotel allegedly belonging to former First Lady Patience Jonathan‘s has been seized by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The hotel valued to be about N2bn by some of the area’s estate agents is not yet open to the public. She is said to have not visited the hotel this year as against her frequent visit in the previous year.
The Hotel and Inset is Patience Jonathan
The hotel was seized alongside three of her other property in Abuja. Her other properties in Yenagoa and Port Harcourt are also on the verge of being seized by the anti-graft agency.
Patience Jonathan has been on EFCC’s watch from when a company pled guilty for laundering money for her, and has since had several encounters with the agency, which included when 5 of her bank accounts were frozen.
Source
Punch
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