The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as well as officials of United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Fidelity Bank have been summoned before the Federal High Court in Makurdi to explain their roles in the recent freezing of the Benue state government accounts in their domicile by the EFCC.
The court demanded that the EFCC alongside both commercial banks explain within 30 days why they froze the accounts of the Benue state government.
The Benue state government who set the suit in motion is also demanding a declaration of the court that by freezing the said accounts, EFCC denied the government the right to operate and transact on the affected accounts.
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The suit instituted by the state government against the EFCC also seeks the verdict of the court to the effect that a state government’s account maintained with any bank or financial institution in Nigeria should not fall within the class of bank accounts liable to be frozen by the EFCC.
The Benue state government is also praying the court to grant an order of perpetual injunction against the EFCC restraining the commission and its agents from freezing accounts held in UBA and Fidelity Bank or any other bank in the country.
Finally the state government is demanding the sum of N30,000,000,000 from the defendants as damages suffered during the periods the accounts were frozen and not available for state use.
The federal high court subsequently fixed October 8, for hearing of the case.
The EFCC had on August 7, 2018, ordered the freezing of the Benue State Government’s accounts over allegations of abuse of the state’s security votes.
The commission had also ordered the freezing of the Akwa Ibom state government also on allegation of financial misappropriation.
It later released both accounts after public outcry and protest.
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