A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday lifted an order barring former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan and 10 companies linked to her from accessing funds in 16 different bank accounts.
Justice Binta Nyako lifted the order following an application by counsels to Mrs Jonathan and the affected companies challenging the interim freezing order obtained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on May 30, 2017.
The accounts held with Skye Bank, Diamond Bank, Union Bank, First Bank, EcoBank and Zenith Bank contained various cash sums totalling $5.8million and N3.5billion.
The presiding judge lifted the order after declaring that the forfeiture order obtained by the EFCC was in the interim and had therefore elapsed and could not be renewed by the anti-graft agency.
In the application challenging the order, the applicants were listed – alongside Mrs Jonathan – as the Incorporated Trustees of Ariwabai Aruera Reachout Foundation, Pagmat Oil and Gas Nigeria Limited, Flinchley Top Homes Limited, Incorporated Trustees of Women for Change and Development Initiative Nigeria, Transocean Property and Investment Ltd, Seagate Property Development Investment Company, Globus Integrated Services and Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited.
The applicants had argued that the EFCC abused judicial process in obtaining the interim freezing order, and that the body failed to establish a connection between the said accounts and any form of illegality.
Justice Nyako subsequently granted their prayer that the order could not be renewed by the EFCC.