Former first lady of Nigeria Patience Jonathan Money laundering case. Read full details below.

A full report Punch.

A Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed December 7, 2016 to hear the
N200m fundamental rights enforcement suit filed wife of ex-President
Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, against the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission and Skye Bank Plc to challenge the freezing of four bank
accounts containing $15m.

The EFCC placed a ‘No Debit Order’ on
the four accounts opened in the name of four companies which were linked
to a former Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to ex-President
Jonathan, Waripamo-Owei Dudafa.

The EFCC froze the four bank accounts on July 7, 2016 in the course of investigating Dudafa for money laundering.

But Patience had sued the EFCC and Skye Bank claiming the ownership of the $15m found in the four bank accounts.

The matter came up for the first time before Justice Babs Kuewumi on Wednesday.

At the hearing, Patience’s lawyer, Mr.
Granville Abibo (SAN), applied to discontinue the earlier motion filed
his client for the purpose of amending it.

Justice Kuewumi granted the application and struck out the motion.

Justice Kuewumi granted the application and struck out the motion.

Abibo then informed the court that he had filed and served a new motion on the defendants.

But the EFCC lawyer, Rotimi Oyedepo, said the suit was not ripe for hearing.

Abibo then urged the court to restrain
the EFCC from tampering with the $15m in the frozen accounts pending the
determination of the suit.

He said despite being served with court processes, the EFCC was still making moves that could overreach the court.

But Oyedepo urged the court to
discountenance Abibo’s submission, saying that the accounts had long
been frozen before Patience filed the suit and so the issue of
interference with the accounts did not arise.

After listening to the parties, Justice Kuewumi adjourned till December 7, 2016 for the hearing of the case.

Patience is urging the court to compel
the EFCC to immediately remove the ‘No Debit Order’ placed on the four
bank accounts in question.

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 right to own personal property under Section 44 of the
1999 Constitution.

Filed in support of the suit was an affidavit deposed to one Sammie Somiari.

Somiari said it was Dudafa who helped Patience to open the four bank accounts which the EFCC froze.

According to him, Dudafa had on March
22, 2010 brought two Skye Bank officers, Demola Bolodeoku and Dipo
Oshodi, to meet Patience at home to open five accounts.

He, however, claimed that after the five
accounts were opened, Patience 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 which have also been 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 Avalon Global Property
Development Company Limited.

Source: The Punch