Patience Jonathan’s application before the Federal High Court in Lagos seeking to restrain the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission from freezing her account with Skye bank, has been rejected by the court.
The former first lady was being probed by the anti-graft agency in connection with money laundering charges against Jonathan’s former Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs, Wariapamo-Owei Dudafa, and four other companies in whose name the accounts were opened.
The amount, which has the sum of $15.591 in Skye bank, had a ‘No Debit Order’, placed on it by the EFCC in July, to which Patience Jonathan filed a case against them asking for the removal of the ban.
Mrs Jonathan wasn’t initially accused by the EFCC, until her open declaration that the frozen account belonged to her.
During investigations, she was found to be the sole signatory to the accounts and also has a special card for withdrawals across the world.
She went on to file a $200million suit against the EFCC, saying that EFCC are plotting to steal her hard-earned money and hiring mercenaries to plead guilty to the charges against the companies.
In the court proceedings, Patience’s lawyer, Mr Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN), had urged the presiding Judge, Justice Mohammed Idris, to restrain the EFCC from tampering with the money until the final investigations were concluded, to which the EFCC lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, opposed, claiming the four companies involved had been convicted of money laundering by Justice Babs Kuewumi.
“We pray the court to dismiss the application with a wave of hand. There is an order of the court that has convicted the fourth to seventh defendants for warehousing the proceeds of crime,” Oyedepo said.
He argued that the case before Justice Kuewumi would be prejudiced should Justice Idris restrain the EFCC from tampering with the money.
Oyedepo also contended that Patience did not have the locus standi to make such an application, and expressed doubt as to the validity of the addresses of the fourth to seventh defendants where Patience claimed to have served the originating summons.
Dudafa’s lawyer, Mr. Gboyega Oyewole, however, said the court bailiff had already deposed to an affidavit that the fourth to seventh defendants had been served.
In a short ruling, Justice Idris said he would rather grant an accelerated hearing of the case, than make any order that would prejudice the outcome of the main case.
Justice Idris had earlier on acknowledged a letter from Skye bank’s lawyer, Lanre Ogunlesi, stating his ill health and inability to come to court on Tuesday for the proceedings of the case.
He adjourned till December 7, 2016 for the hearing of the main case.
According to the law, the EFCC and ICPC Act have provisions under which they can ask the court to freeze the account of a person if capacity to earn is below the amount of money that the person appears to have.