COURT UNFREEZES PATIENCE JONATHANS 16 BANK ACCOUNTS

The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, vacated an order it

made on May 30, freezing 16 separate bank accounts linked to wife of former

President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience.

 Patience  Jonathan 

Justice Binta Nyako lifted the order that barred Mrs. Jonathan and 10 different

organizations connected to her, from having access to the bank accounts

containing aggregate sums of $5.8million and N3.5billion.

The court took the decision after it heard an application that Mrs. Jonathan

and the 10 companies filed to challenge an ex-parte order that granted the

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, interim ownership of funds

in the accounts.

The companies that were cited as co-applicants in the motion that the ex-first

lady filed through her team of lawyers led by Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, were

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.

Justice Nyako upheld Ozekhome’s argument that the interim forfeiture order

had elapsed and could not be renewed by the EFCC.

The former first lady had insisted before the court that the anti-graft agency

obtained the forfeiture order by an improper use of the judicial process.

Mrs. Jonathan and the 10 firms told the court that the said interim forfeiture

order, including a subsequent one that was issued on October 18, had since

expired, with the EFCC, failing to establish a nexus between the applicants and

any act of illegality.

In a six –paragraph affidavit deposed to by one Chinedu Maduba, Mrs.

Jonathan and the firms admitted their ownership of the 16 bank accounts.

The applicants told the court that EFCC had before May 30 when it secured

the forfeiture order, also filed a similar application that affected most of the

parties, before Justice C.M.A. Olatoregun of the Federal High Court sitting in

Lagos in suit number FHC/L/CS/1342/2016 with same granted on October 10.

They alleged that EFCC suppressed the fact that it had earlier approached the

Lagos Division of court for the same relief it applied for and secured from the

court in Abuja.

Mrs Jonathan said, though she was not served a copy of the order that froze

her accounts, she said she only became aware of the existence of the

forfeiture order from the court in Abuja few days ago during the hearing of a

petition she sent to the National Assembly and after some of her co-applicants

tried to operate their accounts to no avail.

She argued that the interim forfeiture order had a life span of 90 days

commencing from May 30, insisting that the order had long elapsed without any

renewal or extension of its lifespan.

“That by reason of these orders, the Applicants have been unable to operate

their accounts as the banks who are in custody of their accounts have refused

to honour any of the applicants’ instructions ostensibly because of the order of

this honourable court”, the affidavit added.

While five of the frozen accounts are domiciled in Skye Bank Plc with seven of

them in Diamond Bank Plc, the remaining accounts are with Union Bank Plc,

First Bank Plc, Ecobank and Zenith Bank Plc.

EFCC had in reaction to the application, prayed the court for an extension of

the forfeiture order against funds in the 16 bank accounts.

EFCC lawyer, Mr. Richard Dauda also applied for the extension application to

be heard first before the application by Mrs. Jonathan and the firms.

However, Justice Nyako, after hearing both motions, said there was nothing

before the court to warrant an extension of the interim forfeiture order.

It will be recalled that Mrs. Jonathan had on October 19, also blocked moves

by the EFCC to take over assets belonging to her organisation, Ariwabai Aruera

Reachout Foundation.

EFCC had in an ex-parte motion it filed before another Judge of the same high

court, applied for an order of interim attachment/forfeiture of assets and

properties of the foundation at Plot No. 1960, Cadastral Zone A05 Maitama

District and Plot No. 1350, Cadastral Zone A00, in Abuja.

The anti-graft agency equally sought for “An order stopping any disposal,

conveyance, mortgage, lease, sale or alienation or otherwise of the property/

asset described in the schedule attached herein.

As well as, “An order authorizing the EFCC to appoint a competent person(s)/

firm to manage the asset/property listed in the schedule herein, temporarily

forfeited to the federal government pending the conclusion of investigation”.

The motion ex-parte marked FHC/Abj/CS/872/2017, was predicated on section

6(d), 7(2), 24(a), 26(1), 28 and 29 of the EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004,

section 330(a) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, section 15

of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011, as amended, and section

44(2) (K) of the 1999 constitution, as amended.

The Commission told the court that the assets/properties of Mrs. Jonathan’s

foundation “are subject matter of investigation, enquiry and examination by the

EFCC”.

It said there was need to preserve the assets/properties “pending the

conclusion of investigation and possibly determination of criminal charges that

may be instituted against the suspects.

“If there is any transaction on the property by the suspects by way of disposal,

conveyance, mortgage, lease, sale and alienation or otherwise of the asset or

property described in the schedule herein, it will render nugatory any

consequential order(s) which the court may make if the suspect(s) is

convicted of the offences alleged against her/them after possible due trial”, the

agency added.

Besides, in a 12-paragraphed supporting affidavit that was deposed to by one

of its investigators, Mr. Kolawole Mukaila, EFCC said it has a Special Task

Force investigating “alleged amounts of money laundered by the former First

Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan into various account and properties were

purchased with nothing to show for”.

Mukaila who identified himself as a member of the special investigating team,

averred: “That sometimes in 2016, an alleged case of conspiracy and money

laundering was received via intelligence report to the office of the Executive

Chairman and referred to my team for investigation.

“That my team swung into action to conduct a discreet investigation by writing

letters to Ecobank, Diamond bank, Corporate Affairs Commission and AGIS.

“That in the course of investigation, it was revealed from the responses from

the C.A.C and Abuja Geographical Information Systems that the plots of land

were allocated to Ariwabai Aruera Reach out Foundation belonging to the

former first lady, Patience Jonathan and her allies.

“That investigation further reveals the accounts held by Ariwabai Aruera

Reachout Foundation had the former first lady, Patience Jonathan as one of

the trustees and signatories of the account. Copies of the response from

Diamond bank and Ecobank are hereby attached and marked as Exhibit EFCC

2A- 2B respectively.

“That investigation also revealed that the plots of land were allocated in 2010

and the Certificate of Occupancy was issued in 2011.

“That all the above stated payment/transfers/purchases had no contract award

backing it up whatsoever and as such was reasonably suspected to be

fraudulent payments and an illegal dissipation of the nation’s resources”, he

added.

However, the former first lady persuaded the court presided by Justice Nnamdi

Dimgba to suspend hearing on the ex-parte motion to enable her to respond to

the application.

Mr. Jonathan said she got wind of EFCC’s plans and decided to file a counter-

motion in opposition to the interim forfeiture order request.

She prayed the court to strike out EFCC’s ex-parte Originating Motion dated

September 20 on the ground that the court lacks the jurisdiction to entertain

the application.

Mrs. Jonathan insisted that the motion was legally defective, insisting that ‘Ex-

parte Originating Summons’ “is not one of the modes of commencement of

action under Order 3 Rule 1 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure Rules)

2009, and it is not known or provided for by any law or rules of court”.

She argued that the motion was an abuse of court process as it was filed “to

overreach the Fundamental Human Rights suit pending before this court in suit

no. FHC/CS/586/2017, filed by one of the trustees of Ariwabai Aruera

Reachout Foundation, against the said EFCC, with respect to the assets/

properties of the said Ariwabai Aruera Reachout Foundation, sought to be

forfeited by the EFCC through the instant ‘Exparte Originating Summons”.

Mrs. Jonathan, through an affidavit also deposed to by Mr Maduba, told the

court that the NGO was founded in 2006 when she was the first lady of

Bayelsa state, in conjunction with other trustees.

“That the said NGO was registered as a charitable organization and in the last

10 years, it has carried out several charitable programmes, in line with its

objectives. Some of the programmes include vocational training for women,

treatment of people with heart and kidney problems within the country and

abroad, as well as assisting less privileged generally.

“That recently, the Respondent herein began to harass Mrs. Patience Jonathan,

her relatives and the NGO, by indiscriminately freezing their accounts, even

without court order, breaking into their properties, sealing off the NGO’s

properties without an order of court. That the actions of the Respondent led to

the filing of a Fundamental Human Right suit against the Respondent by Mrs.

Patience Jonathan”.

Justice Dimgba has fixed January 22, 2018, to hear the matter.