Ex First Lady asks court to de-freeze her account

chika ebuzor

September 28, 2017 8:36 PM

Patience filed the suit in protest against the 'No Debit Order’ placed by the EFCC on the bank accounts

The Federal High Court in Lagos, on Thursday fixed Nov.2 for hearing in the N200 million fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by wife of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, against Skye Bank Plc.

Patience filed the suit in protest against the ‘No Debit Order’ placed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on the bank accounts of the four companies domiciled in Skye Bank.

The four companies were said to have a total of 15.5 million dollars in their bank accounts, which the EFCC had frozen sometime in July, 2016.

The EFCC froze the accounts while investigating former Special Adviser to Ex-President Jonathan on Domestic Affairs, Waripamo-Owei Dudafa for money laundering.

But Patience claimed that the funds in the companies’ accounts belonged to her though she was not a signatory to any of the accounts.

Other defendants joined in the suit are, the EFCC and the four firms linked to Dudafa.

They are Pluto Property and Investment Company Ltd; Seagate Property Development and Investment Co. Ltd; Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Ltd; and Globus Integrated Service Ltd.

In an affidavit filed in support of the suit, which was sworn by one Sammie Somiari, deposed that Patience had asked Dudafa to help her open five bank accounts.

Somiari averred that Dudafa opened only one account in Patience’s name and four others in the names of the four companies linked to him.

According to Somiari, Dudafa had on March 22, 2010 brought two Skye Bank officers, Demola Bolodeoku and Dipo Oshodi, to meet Patience at home to open the five accounts.

He, however, claimed that after the five accounts were opened, Patience later discovered that Dudafa opened only one of the accounts in her name.

Somiari added that the applicant (Patience) complained to Dudafa and the bank officials, who promised to change the accounts to the applicant’s name but did not do so.

According to the affidavit, “the applicant is not a director, shareholder or participant in the companies named in the aforementioned four accounts.

“Besides, the ATM credit cards bearing the said companies’ names were given to the applicant by the bank official, Oshodi, who promised to replace the cards but he never did.

“However, from 2010 until 2014 and thereafter, the applicant used the cards and operated the said accounts without any hindrance.

“Even when the applicant travelled overseas for medical treatment sometime in 2016, she used the cards till they stopped functioning,” Somiari said.

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In the suit, filed before Justice Mohammed Idris, Patience, through her lawyer, Mr Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN), is seeking N200 million damages against Skye Bank for denying her access to the 15.5 million dollars in the four accounts.

She also asked the court to lift the ‘No Debit Order’ placed on the accounts by the EFCC.

chika ebuzor