A Federal High Court in Abuja has issued an order freezing 32 bank accounts belonging to individuals and firms linked to the economic crisis protests, which took place in the first week of this month.
The protests took place in spite warnings by security agents it stood the risk of being hijacked by hoodlums and criminal elements.
Lootings, destruction of public and private properties accompanied the action as a result of which more than a hundred people were arrested. Some people, including policemen, were confirmed dead.
Justice Emeka Nweze, who issued the order, said the accounts shall remain frozen pending the conclusion of police’s investigation and prosecution of the case.
Justice Nweze issued the order while ruling on an order ex-parte motion filed and argued for Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun.
In the ruling rendered on Thursday, an enrolled copy of which The Nation sighted yesterday, the judge equally ordered the banks to apprehend the account holders or any person transacting business on the said accounts.
He ordered the banks to contact the Nigeria Police Force through the telephone numbers: 08035179870 and 07032449912 as soon as any arrest was made.
Justice Nwite said: “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 ATM while allowing inflow into the said accounts as from the date of this court order.”
Listed as respondents in the case, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1219/2024, are PA.LIN.HO Global Service Ltd, Innocent Angel Lovet Chinyere Nkiru, Obidient Movement Multipurpose Cooperative Society, Innocent Angel Lovet, and Great Communicators Champion Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd.
Others are: Great Communicators Champion Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd, Opaluwa Eleojo Bob-Simon, NUEE State Chapter, Adeyemi Abiodun Abayomi, Adaramoye Michael Tobiloba and Popoola Festus.
The affected accounts are domiciled in major national banks, microfinance banks and fin-tech banks.
Counsel to the Egbetokun, Ibrahim Mohammed, while moving the motion, 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.
He added: “If 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.”
He stated that the 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.
Mohammed added: “That the accused persons were involved in hosting another country’s flag in order to undermine the sovereignty of Nigerian state.”
In a supporting affidavit, it was stated that preliminary investigation revealed that some suspects arrested were being recruited by some financiers to cause mayhem and destroyed life and property.
Mohammed 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.
He added that 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.
Mohammed stated that the act of the respondents was akin to the offence of criminal conspiracy, terrorism financing, treasonable felony, cyberstalking and cyberbullying.
He said it is the function of the police to stop this act by apprehending the offenders as offence to one is an offence to all.
According to him intelligent report gathered so far reveals that the suspects are making effort to transfer or withdraw money from the accounts and unless this honourable court grants this order, otherwise, the investigation will be jeopardise.
He added: “That 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.”