The wife of former
President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, on Thursday asked the Federal High
Court, Abuja, to set aside an order which froze her bank accounts containing
$5.8 million and N3.5 billion.
Mrs. Jonathan asked
the court to set aside the order it made on May 30 on the grounds that it had
expired.
The former first lady
told the court, through her counsel, Mike Ozekhome, that the order of interim
forfeiture, including the one issued on October 10 had been “spent and could
not be extended.’’
According to her, the
original order was obtained by an improper use of court process by the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
She said in a
deposition filed in court, that the Incorporated Trustees of Ariwabai Aruera
Reachout Foundation, nine other companies and herself were the owners of the
money.
The counsel to the
EFCC, Richard Dauda, had earlier told the court that he had filed an
application seeking to extend the interim order of forfeiture.
The judge, Binta Nyako
adjourned the matter until November 23 for hearing.
The Federal High
Court, Abuja, had on May 30, granted an ex-parte order in favour of the federal
government against all the accounts owned and operated by Mrs. Jonathan and her
companies.
Another order was
obtained by government from the Lagos Division of the court, directing the
managers of Skye Bank, Ecobank PLC, Fidelity Bank PLC, Stanbic IBTC PLC, Zenith
Bank PLC, and Diamond Bank PLC to in the interim, freeze Mrs. Jonathan’s
accounts.
The
banks were also directed to attach the various sums of money in the accounts
belonging to the former first lady, Finchley Top Homes Limited and Ariwabai
Aruera Reachout Foundation.
-NAN
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