Court Unfreezes 16 Accounts Belonging To Patience Jonathan

After months of struggle with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),  the Federal High Court in Abuja has reversed its order made on May 30, to freeze 16 accounts belonging to Patience Jonathan, the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

At the hearing of an application filed by the former first lady today December 5th, the presiding judge, Justice Binta Nyako, withdrew the order on the grounds that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which secured the freezing order, failed to conduct a proper investigation into the case.

Justice Nyako’s decision was sequel to an application by the counsel to Mrs. Jonathan, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), asking the court to set aside the ex-parte motion filed by the EFCC for continued control of the accounts.

Speaking to journalists outside the court, Ozekhome disclosed that the court in addition, ordered the EFCC to conduct its investigation within 90 days of freezing the accounts in May, but that the commission failed to carry out the said investigation.

“The judge, Justice Binta, had given the EFCC 90 days within which to investigate and prosecute parties involved in the allegations but they never did that. So we asked the court to set aside the interim forfeiture order. The judge set aside the order granted on May 30,” Ozekhome said.