Benue Govt. drags EFCC, Banks to Court Over Freezing of account

The Federal High Court in Makurdi has summoned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and two commercial banks to appear before it over the recent freezing of the state government accounts.

The banks are United Bank for Africa, UBA and Fidelity Bank.

In the writ of summons issued to the defendants on Wednesday, the court demanded the EFCC and the two banks to, within 30 days, state why they froze the accounts of the state government.

The state, through the office of the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, had asked the court to declare that the EFCC acted against the law when it directed the banks to freeze its accounts.

The state government 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.

The suit 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 does not fall within the class of bank accounts liable to be frozen by the EFCC.

Another relief sought by the Benue State Government is an order of perpetual injunction restraining the EFCC or its agents from freezing accounts held in UBA and Fidelity Bank or any other bank.

Furthermore, the state government is demanding N30,000,000,000 from the defendants as damages suffered during the periods the accounts were frozen.

Consequently, the court 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.