A federal high court sitting in Lagos has restrained the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, from dealing with accounts belonging to Patience Jonathan, a former first lady of Nigeria, affected in the suit before it pending its determination.
The said accounts are subjects of a suit brought before the court by lawyers representing Dame Patience Jonathan, the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Dame Jonathan is praying the court to restrain the EFCC from undermining her fundamental rights.
It would be recalled that EFCC has been reported to claim that it had frozen accounts belonging to Dame Patience Jonathan with amounts ranging from $40 million to $30 million, a claim Dame Jonathan vehemently denies as false, malicious and mischievous.
According to her lawyers, Jonathan’s funds are less than $10 million and are not linked to fraud or proceeds of corruption.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has been variously challenged by various groups to publish its claims in the public domain to substantiate them. But no such publications have been done in spite of the enormity of the calls.
At the federal high court in Lagos, Wednesday, October 26, 2016 protesters were seen calling on the federal government to end what they described as victimisation and witch-hunt against the former first family.
Many believe EFCC’s claims are in fact not about corruption but about combating the rising profile of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. A belief strengthened by the EFCC’s shady approach and its inability to substantiate its claim by any form of communication.
