The former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan has sued the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Skye Bank at the Federal High Court in Lagos over the freezing of her bank accounts with over $30m.
An aide, Sammie Somiari, deposed to an affidavit on behalf of the former first lady. She is demanding N200million in the fundamental rights enforcement suit. Mrs. Jonathan said four of her frozen accounts with Skye Bank in the name of four companies have a balance of $15, 591,700.
EFCC placed a No Debit Order on the four accounts in July in the course of probing a former Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to Jonathan, Waripamo Dudafa.
The EFCC has filed an amended 17-count against Dudafa and seven others, including the four companies. They were accused of conspiring to conceal $15, 591,700, which the EFCC claimed they ought to have known formed parts of proceeds of crime.
Somiari said Mrs. Jonathan was abroad for an urgent medical treatment. The deponent said Dudafa helped Patience to open the four banks accounts which the EFCC froze.
He said Dudafa, on March 22, 2010 brought two Skye Bank officers, Demola Bolodeoku and Dipo Oshodi, to meet Patience at home to open five accounts.
The deponent claimed that Patience is the sole signatory to the accounts, adding that after the five accounts were opened, 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.
The four companies, whose accounts have now been frozen and charged with money laundering along with Dudafa 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.
Somiari said: “The applicant (Mrs. Jonathan) complained about this to Honourable Dudafa, who at his prompting and instance promised to effect the change of the said accounts to the applicant’s name and to effect this change, Dudafa brought the said bank manager, Mr. Dipo Oshodi, who purported to have effected the changes. This was about April 2014.
“The applicant is not a director, shareholder or participant in the companies named in the aforementioned four accounts. “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 of the applicant.
“Besides, the ATM credit cards bearing the said companies’ names were brought to the applicant by Mr. Dipo Oshodi of the 2nd respondent bank, 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, the applicant 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 applicant 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, Mrs. Jonathan is urging the court to compel the EFCC to immediately remove the No Debit Order placed on her accounts.
She also wants the court to order Skye Bank to pay her damages in the sum of N200m for what she termed a violation of her rights to own personal property under Section 44 of the Constitution.
The case has been adjourned till September 15.
