*A Federal High Court, in Abuja, freezes bank accounts of 32 individuals and companies linked to the recent #EndBadGovernance protest across the country, alleging the accounts are used to promote criminal conspiracy, terrorism financing, treasonable felony, cyberbullying and cyberstalking

Isola Moses | 绿帽献妻

A Federal High Court, in Abuja, FCT, has frozen the bank accounts of 32 individuals and companies linked to the last 10-day #EndBadGovernance protest organised across the country, pending investigation and prosecution of the case.

It was gathered the court alleged that the bank accounts of the suspected individuals and corporate organisations are used to promote offences of 鈥渃riminal conspiracy, terrorism financing, treasonable felony, cyberbullying and cyberstalking鈥�.

The court equally purported the funds in the accounts were illegally transferred to the accused persons who are still on the run.

Justice Emeka Nwite, in a ruling on the ex-parte motion moved by Ibrahim Mohammed, counsel to Nigeria鈥檚 Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Thursday, August 22, 2024, also ordered the concerned commercial banks and Other Financial Institutions (OFIs) to apprehend the account holders, or any person transacting business on the said accounts henceforth.

The Judge, who granted the motion dated and filed August 20, 2024, also directed the banks to contact the Nigeria Police through the telephone numbers: 08035179870 and 07032449912 as soon as arrests are made, agency report said.

Banks ordered to place Post-No-Debit on accounts, disable linked ATM Cards

Justice Nwite further stated: 鈥淭hat the banks are hereby directed by this honourable court to issue details of the account package(s) and to place a Post-No-Debit (PND) on the accounts, disable the Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) while allowing inflow into the said accounts as from the date of this court order,鈥� the judge declared.

The account numbers affected include 4010073491 (Fidelity Bank), 1255130019 (Access Bank), 0006084167 (Abbey Mortgage Multipurpose Bank Plc), 0821931299 (FCMB), 1012007655 (FCMB), 0000575573 (A AG Mortgage Bank Plc), 1007871587 (UBA), 2037117333 (UBA), 5421031104 (ECOBANK) and 0024541201 (Union Bank).

Others are 1022899050 (UBA), 8755008491 (Branch International Services Ltd), 5630208636 (Fidelity), 4936992542 (Fairmoney Microfinance Bank).

Others are 8755008499 (Branch International Financial Services Ltd), 2088228208 (UBA), 2115678044 (Zenith Bank), 3041823452 (First Bank), 1011828445 (New Edge Finance), 3024402748 (First Bank), 0161502459 (GTBank) and 0040580047 (Access Bank).

They also include 0250291788 (Wema Bank), 6112464260 (Branch International Financial Services Ltd), 1000774097 (Sparkle Microfinance Bank Ltd), 3434649965 (Fairmoney Microfinance Bank), 2013556714 (KUDA Microfinance Bank), 3104962864 (Polaris Bank), 6112464267 (Branch International Finance Services Lit), 8137051249 (OPAY) and 8137051249 (PALMPAY).

The IGP, in the application marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1219/2024, had listed PA.LIN.HO Global Service Limited, Innocent Angel Lovet Chinyere Nkiru, Obidient Movement Multipurpose Cooperative Society, Innocent Angel Lovet, Great Communicators Champion Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited as first to fifth respondents respectively.

Others include Great Communicators Champion Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited, Opaluwa Eleojo Bob-Simon, NUEE State Chapter, Adeyemi Abiodun Abayomi, Adaramoye Michael Tobiloba, Popoola Festus as 6th to 11th respondents respectively.

Mohammed, counsel to the IGP, in his four-ground argument, said the accounts as contained in the schedule in respect of which reliefs sought are subject of investigation and are reasonably suspected to be warehousing proceeds of unlawful activities or fraud.

The plaintiff鈥檚 counsel also alleged: 鈥淚f there is any dealing with the account by way of withdrawal or transfer to another account by the persons under investigation/investigator and the persons that have absolute power to deal with the account will render nugatory any consequential order(s) which the court may make at the conclusion of this application.鈥�

Bank accounts used to promote terrorism financing, treasonable felony, cyberbullying and cyberstalking in Nigeria 鈹�Counsel

Counsel Mohammed further argued that the affected bank accounts are used to promote the offence of criminal conspiracy, terrorism financing, treasonable felony, cyberbullying and cyberstalking, which was illegally transferred to the account of the accused persons now at large.

He noted: 鈥淭hat the accused persons were involved in hosting another country鈥檚 flag in order to undermine the sovereignty of Nigerian state.鈥�

In the affidavit in support of the motion ex-parte, Gregory Woji, a detective attached to Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), deposed that preliminary investigation revealed that some suspects arrested were being recruited by some financiers to cause mayhem and destroyed life and property during the last #EndBadGovernance protest in the West African country.

Woji said preliminary investigation further revealed that the financiers were sending money to recruit the indigents and other vulnerable individuals to carry banners and overthrow a democratically elected government.

According to him, preliminary investigation further reveals that some foreign nationals were the harrow head in the unscrupulous act of treasonable felony and promoting terrorism financing in Nigeria.

He said the act of the accused persons is akin to the offence of criminal conspiracy, terrorism financing, treasonable felony, cyberstalking and cyberbullying.

The FCID detective affirmed it is the function of the Police to stop this act by apprehending the offenders as an offence to one is an offence to all Nigerians.

According to Woji, intelligent report gathered so far indicated that the suspects are making effort at transferring or withdrawing money from the accounts, and unless the honourable court grants the order, otherwise, the investigation would be jeopardised.

The FCID chief said: 鈥淭hat it will be in the interest of justice to grant this request by freezing the account of the said suspects and order their immediate arrest on sighting them pending the outcome of the investigation and possible prosecution.鈥�

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