Former Nigeria First Lady, Patience Jonathan has filed a N200m fundamental rights enforcement suit against Skye Bank Plc, following the freezing of four bank accounts with total deposits of $31.4m domiciled with the bank by the Economic and Financial Services Commission, EFCC.
Mrs Jonathan said the accounts which are in the names of four different companies as well as the deposits belonged to her and the freezing of the accounts by the anti graft agency has inconvenienced and embarrassed her.
The four companies are Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited; Seagate Property Development & Investment Co. Limited; Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited and Development Company Limited and Globus Integrated Service Limited.
In an affidavit filed before the court and deposed to by one Sammie Somiari, a legal practitioner on behalf of Mrs. Jonathan, the deponent claims that the EFCC placed a No Debit Order on the four accounts in July in the course of probing one Waripamo Dudafa, a former Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to former President Goodluck Jonathan.
EFCC had also filed an amended 17-count against Dudafa and seven others, including the four companies, with the defendants being accused of conspiring to conceal the monies which the EFCC claimed they ought to have known formed parts of the proceeds of an unlawful act.
But Somiari claims said the funds belonged to Mrs Jonathan who, according to her, asked Dudafa to open the four bank accounts which was frozen by EFCC.
The legal practitioner said in accordance with the directive, Dudafa had on March 22, 2010 brought two Skye Bank officers, Demola Bolodeoku and Dipo Oshodi, to meet the former first lady at home to open five accounts.
But according to him, Mrs Jonathan later discovered that Dudafa opened only one of the accounts in her name while the other four were opened in the names of companies belonging to Dudafa.
Somiari added “that Mrs Jonathan complained about this to Honourable Dudafa, who at her prompting and instance promised to effect the change of the said accounts to the applicant’s name; and to effect this change, Honourable Dudafa brought the said bank manager, Mr. Dipo Oshodi, who claimed to have effected the changes. This was about April 2014.
“The bank official, Mr. Dipo Oshodi, as it would appear did not effect or reflect the instruction of the applicant to change the said accounts to her name(s) despite repeated requests.
The deponent also claims that Mrs Patience Jonathan who is said to be away for an urgent medical treatment abroad, is the sole signatory to the accounts as the money belongs to her.
According to him, ATM credit cards bearing the said companies’ names were brought to Mrs Jonathan by the bank manager who promised to replace them once the cards bearing the changed names were available, but he never did.
“However, since 2010 up until 2014 and thereafter, Mrs Jonathan had been using the cards on the said accounts and operating the said accounts without let or hindrance. Even in May, June and July 2016, the former First Lady traveled overseas for medical treatment and was using the said credit cards abroad up until July 7, 2016 or thereabouts when the cards stopped functioning.”
In her fundamental rights action before the court, the wife of the former President is asking the court to compel the EFCC to immediately vacate the “No Debit Order” placed on her accounts.
The First Lady claims the frozen of the accounts by EFCC without a court order or prior notice to her is illegal, overbearing and constitutes a breach of her fundamental rights as enshrined in Section 33, 34, 35 & 36 of the 1999 Constitution.
She therefore urges the court to order Skye Bank to pay her damages in the sum of N200m for what she termed a violation of her right to own personal property under Section 44 of the Constitution.
It will be recalled that EFCC) had last Thursday informed a Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos south west Nigeria that one of the companies, Globus Integrated Service Limited used by Dudafa and two other persons to open the accounts with $31.4m deposit is without address.
The Commission’s prosecutor, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, said as a result, the anti graft Agency’s has been unable to effect service of the Criminal charge on the company charged alongside the former President Jonathan Aides and a lawyer, Amajuoyi Azubike Briggs, and one Bolodeoku .
Other companies in the criminal charge marked: FHC/337C/16, alongside the three accused persons are: Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited, Seagate Property Development and Investment Company Limited, Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited, Avalon Global Property Development Company Limited.
The accused persons are facing a 17-count charge bordering on alleged fraud of $31. 434, 400 million USD.
They were alleged to have between November 13, 2013, and May 28, 2015, conspired among themselves to conceal the total sum of $31. 434, 400 million USD, which they know to form part of the proceed of an unlawful act, through Skye bank Plc.
The accused persons were alleged to have committed the fraud with one Sombre Omeibi, now at large, through accounts number 2110002269, 2110002238, 2110002245, 210002252, 2110002207, 2110002269 and 0122493290, domiciled in Skye.
The Offences alleged to have been committed by the accused persons are contrary to section 18(a) and 15(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012, and punishable Under Section 15(3) of the same Act. The Judge had adjourned arraignment of the accused to 15 September.
But the claim by the former First Lady that the funds belonged to her has introduced a new twist into the suit.
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