Former First Lady, Patience Jonathan has filed a
N200m fundamental rights enforcement suit
against Skye Bank Plc, following the freezing of
four bank accounts, which she claims the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC) has used to inconvenience and embarrass
her.

The four accounts, lodged with Skye Bank Plc, are
in the name of four companies which is said to
have a balance of $31.4m
The four companies are Pluto Property and
Investment Company Limited; Seagate Property
Development & Investment Co. Limited; Trans
Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited
and Development Company Limited and Globus
Integrated Service Limited.


In an affidavit filed before the court and deposed
to by one Sammie Somiari, a legal practitioner on
behalf of Patience Jonathan, the deponents claims
that the EFCC placed a No Debit Order on the four
accounts in July in the course of probing one
Waripamo Dudafa, a former Special Adviser on
Domestic Affairs to former President Goodluck
Jonathan.
After its investigations, the EFCC went ahead to file
an amended 17-count against Dudafa and seven
others, including the four companies, with the
defendants being accused of conspiring to conceal
the monies which the EFCC claimed they ought to
have known formed parts of the proceeds of an
unlawful act.

In the affidavit however, Sammie Somiari claims
that it was Dudafa who helped Mrs Patience
Jonathan 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 the former
first lady at home to open five accounts.
He, however, claimed that after the five accounts
were opened, Mrs Patience Jonathan 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.


Somiari added “that Mrs Jonathan complained
about this to Honourable Dudafa, who at her
prompting and instance promised to effect the
change of the said accounts to the applicant’s
name; and to effect this change, Honourable
Dudafa brought the said bank manager, Mr. Dipo
Oshodi, who claimed to have effected the changes.
This was about April 2014.
“The bank official, Mr. Dipo Oshodi, as it would
appear did not effect or reflect the instruction of
the applicant to change the said accounts to her
name(s) despite repeated requests.
The deponent also claims that Mrs Patience
Jonathan who is said to be away for an urgent
medical treatment abroad, is the sole signatory to
the accounts as the money belongs to her.
The affidavit also said that the ATM credit cards
bearing the said companies’ names were brought
to Mrs Jonathan by the bank manager who
promised to replace them once the cards bearing
the changed names were available, but he never
did.


“However, since 2010 up until 2014 and thereafter,
Mrs Jonathan had been using the cards on the
said accounts and operating the said accounts
without let or hindrance. Even in May, June and
July 2016, the former First Lady traveled overseas
for medical treatment and was using the said
credit cards abroad up until July 7, 2016 or
thereabouts when the cards stopped functioning.”
In her fundamental rights action before the court,
the wife of the former President is asking the court
to compel the EFCC to immediately vacate the “No
Debit Order” placed on her accounts.
She also says the action of the EFCC without a
court order or prior notice to her is illegal,
overbearing and constitutes a breach of her
fundamental rights as enshrined in Section 33, 34,
35 & 36 of the 1999 Constitution.
She 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 Constitution.
The EFCC on its part is set to arraign the former
Presdent’s aide, Dudafa and his alleged
accomplices for money laundering before a
Federal High Court in Lagos.
The case will be heard on Thursday, Sept 15.