Former first lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan will no longer be able to operate her numerous bank accounts for the foreseeable future as a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Friday gave an order that her accounts be frozen on the ground that it contains suspected proceeds of crime.
The presiding judge, Justice Mojisola Olatoregun, while freezing the accounts ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to file an undertaking in relation to damages payable it if it turns out that the order should not have been made.
One of the accounts frozen, domiciled with Skye Bank plc, has a balance of $5,316.66.
Other accounts afftected by the order are five companies and on account belonging to one Esther Oba. The companies collectively have balances totalling N7,418,829,290.94 in six commercial banks, while Esther Obafo has a balance of $429,381.87.
The court order followed an affidavit in support of Ex-parte originating summons sworn to by Mr. Abdulahi Tukur, an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and filed before the court by EFCC prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo.
Tukur told the court to direct the managers of the bank accounts contained in the schedule filed with the summons (FHC/L/CS/1343/16) to, in the interim, forfeit the money in the accounts, to prevent further tampering with such.
The companies affected by the order are Finchley Top Homes Limited, Aribawa Aruera, Magel Resort Limited, AM -PM Global Network Limited Pansy Oil and Gas Limited.
According to Tukur, Finchley Top Homes Limited is alleged to have fraudulently opened an account, numbered 1102001996, domiciled with Ecobank Plc and has a current balance of N226,376,700.23 and a fixed deposit with a balance of N1,099,511,484.88.
The company also fraudulently opened other accounts. These are account 1771731336, domiciled with Skye Bank and with a current balance of N14,173,848.85; Fidelity Bank account 4011019539 with a current balance of N1,800,494,000; Stanbic Bank account 0016901361 with a current balance of N40,594,12.88; and Diamond Bank account 0019213687 with a current balance of N39,418,712.12.
Aribawa Aruera Reachout Foundation opened an 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 two other accounts (1011744356) in Zenith Bank, which has a balance of N858,923,982, and 0024351590 with Diamond Bank and has 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 opened by Pansy Oil and Gas Limited at Fidelity Bank (4011019577) has a current balance of N1,809,666,494.68, while that at Diamond Bank (0026838491) has a balance of N55,930,024.50.
Esther Oba was found to have opened account number 0019213689 with Diamond Bank and has a current balance of $429,381.87.