Court Hears Patience Jonathan’s Suit Against EFCC, Skye Bank

A Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed December 7, 2016 to hear the fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by wife of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and Skye Bank Plc, challenging the freezing of four bank accounts containing $15m. The EFCC had placed a ‘No Debit Order’ on one of the four accounts opened in the name of four companies that have been linked to a former Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to ex-President Jonathan, Waripamo-Owei Dudafa. The EFCC froze the four bank accounts on July 7, 2016 in the course of investigating Dudafa for money laundering. But Patience had sued the EFCC and Skye Bank, claiming the ownership of the $15m found in the four bank accounts. The matter came up for the first time before Justice Babs Kuewumi on Wednesday. At the hearing, Patience’s lawyer, Mr. Granville Abibo (SAN), applied to discontinue the earlier motion filed by Patience for the purpose of amending it. Justice Kuewumi granted the application and struck out the motion. Abibo then informed the court that he had filed and served a new motion on the defendants. But the EFCC lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo, said the suit was not ripe for hearing. Abibo then urged the court to restrain the EFCC from tampering with the $15m in the frozen accounts pending the determination of the suit. He said despite being served with court processes, the EFCC was still making moves that could overreach the court. But Oyedepo urged the court to discountenance Abibo’s submission, saying that the accounts had long been frozen before Jonathan filed the suit and so the issue of interference with the accounts did not arise. After listening to the parties, Justice Kuewumi adjourned till December 7, 2016 for the hearing of the case.