Former
First Lady, Patience Jonathan has filed a N200m fundamental rights
enforcement suit against Skye Bank Plc, following the freezing of four
bank accounts, which she claims the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) has used to inconvenience and embarrass her.
The four accounts, lodged with Skye Bank Plc, are in the name of four companies which is said to have a balance of $31.4m
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 Patience Jonathan, the deponents 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.
After its
investigations, the EFCC went ahead to file 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.
In the affidavit however, Sammie Somiari claims
that it was Dudafa who helped Mrs Patience Jonathan to open the four
bank accounts which the EFCC froze.
According to him, 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.
He, however, claimed that after the five accounts were
opened, Mrs Patience 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.
The affidavit also said that the 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.
She
also says the action of the 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 wants 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.
The
EFCC on its part is set to arraign the former Presdent’s aide, Dudafa
and his alleged accomplices for money laundering before a Federal High
Court in Lagos.
The case will be heard on Thursday, Sept 15.