The senate committee investigating the petitions
against the freezing of ex-first lady Patience
Jonathan’s accounts has directed that they should be
unfrozen.
The senate committee on ethics, privileges and public
petitions, after subjecting the management of four
different banks, where the first lady had accounts,
directed that those accounts not encumbered by any
legal process be re-opened.
The committee, headed by Sam Anyanwu, observed
that some of the accounts were frozen based on some
administrative lapses.
According to the committee, one of the accounts which
is with Stanbic IBTC Bank had not breached any
known law or due process.
The committee also directed that the account with
Zenith Bank must be re-opened because the court
order which directed that it should be frozen had been
vacated.
The committee members were particularly displeased
with what they called arbitrary manner in which the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
used the banks to close the accounts without
complying with due process of law.
After listening to the committee, bank executives
present informed the lawmakers that the court order
vacating the earlier ones relied upon by the EFCC to
close the accounts were not made available to them.
Consequently, they promised to re-open those
accounts having been made to known of the vacation
order.
The committee expressed shock that the banks could
rely on an ordinary letter by the EFCC anticipating a
favourable ruling to freeze customers’ accounts.
TheCable
0 Comments