Jonathan’s wife sues EFCC, Skye
Bank over frozen accounts
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Former President Goodluck Jonathan’s wife,
Patience, has sued the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and
Skye Bank at the Federal High Court in Lagos
over the freezing of her bank accounts.
She is demanding N200million in the
fundamental rights enforcement suit.
Mrs. Jonathan said four of her frozen
accounts with Skye Bank in the name of four
companies have a balance of $15, 591,700.
An aide, Sammie Somiari, deposed to an
affidavit on behalf of the former first lady.
EFCC reportedly placed a No Debit Order on
the four accounts in July in the course of
probing a former Special Adviser on Domestic
Affairs to Jonathan, Waripamo Dudafa.
The EFCC has filed an amended 17-count
against Dudafa and seven others, including
the four companies.
They were accused of conspiring to conceal
$15, 591,700, which the EFCC claimed they
ought to have known formed parts of proceeds
of crime.
Somiari said Mrs. Jonathan was abroad for an
urgent medical treatment.
The deponent said Dudafa helped Patience to
open the four banks accounts which the EFCC
froze.
He said Dudafa, on March 22, 2010 brought
two Skye Bank officers, Demola Bolodeoku
and Dipo Oshodi, to meet Patience at home to
open five accounts.
The deponent claimed that Patience is the
sole signatory to the accounts, adding that
after the five accounts were opened, Mrs.
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.
The four companies, whose accounts have
now been frozen and charged with money
laundering along with Dudafa 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.
Somiari said: “The applicant (Mrs. Jonathan)
complained about this to Honourable Dudafa,
who at his prompting and instance promised
to effect the change of the said accounts to
the applicant’s name and to effect this
change, Dudafa brought the said bank
manager, Mr. Dipo Oshodi, who purported to
have effected the changes. This was about
April 2014.
“The applicant is not a director, shareholder or
participant in the companies named in the
aforementioned four accounts.
“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 of the applicant.
“Besides, the ATM credit cards bearing the
said companies’ names were brought to the
applicant by Mr. Dipo Oshodi of the 2nd
respondent bank, 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, the applicant 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
applicant 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, Mrs.
Jonathan is urging the court to compel the
EFCC to immediately remove the No Debit
Order placed on her accounts.
She also wants the court to order Skye Bank
to pay her damages in the sum of N200m for
what she termed a violation of her rights to
own personal property under Section 44 of the
Constitution.
The case has been adjourned till September
15.