A federal court in Abuja has ordered the freezing of bank accounts belonging to 32 individuals and companies linked to the recent #EndBadGovernance protests in Nigeria. This decision will remain in effect pending further investigation and potential prosecution.
The ruling, delivered by Justice Emeka Nwite, came after a suit was filed by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, on August 20. The IGP sought to prevent the defendants from accessing their funds, alleging that the accounts were being used to finance unlawful activities connected to the protests.
Justice Nwite instructed the banks to freeze the accounts, issue details of the account packages, disable ATM services, and only allow deposits into the accounts. “The banks are hereby directed by this honorable court to place a Post-No-Debit (PND) on the accounts,” he stated.
The affected accounts are spread across various banks, including Fidelity Bank, Access Bank, First City Monument Bank, and United Bank for Africa. The court also authorized the arrest of account holders or anyone conducting transactions on these accounts.
IGP’s counsel Ibrahim Mohammed argued that the accounts were being used for criminal activities, including conspiracy, terrorism financing, treason, and cybercrimes. “That the accused persons were involved in hosting another country’s flag in order to undermine the sovereignty of the Nigerian state,” he added.
Detective Gregory Woji from the Force Criminal Investigation Department supported these claims, stating that a preliminary investigation showed that the suspects were recruited by financiers to incite violence and destruction during the 10-day protests.
“The intelligence report gathered so far reveals that the suspects are making an effort to transfer or withdraw money from the accounts, and unless this honorable court grants this order, otherwise, the investigation will be jeopardized,” Woji warned.
—Ezinwanne Onwuka reports for TruthNigeria from Abuja.
