‘EFCC: You’re Over-embarrassing Me, I Have Sued you for $200million’–Patience Jonathan, ex-president’s wife
…Fumes: ‘No Nigerian Former First Lady Ever Been Ridiculed’
*Warns: ‘You’d Better Unfreeze My Bank Account, Remove No Debit Withdrawal’
*Angry: ‘I was Not Invited, Arrested or Informed before Freezing My Bank Account’
*Echoes: ‘I will Teach Anti-graft agency a Lesson of Lifetime in Court’
*Vows: ‘I’m Ready to Clear My Name, Prove My Innocence’
BY OMOTAYO IYANU/JUDICIAL REPORTER,LAGOS
OBVIOUSLY angry erstwhile Nigeria’s First Lady, Patience Dame Jonathan had declared a full scale legal battle with Nigeria’s No. one anti-graft agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC for daring to disgrace her and drag her into opprobrium despite illegally freezing her bank account and place a ban on any form of debit withdrawal.
Patience dragged EFCC before a Federal High Court in Lagos two days ago with the sole aim of teaching the anti-graft agency the ethics of living withing the ambit of the constitution and obeying the rule of law.
Though the case is not yet assigned, but Patience in the court affidavit slammed a $200million legal suit against the EFCC.
This latest development followed an admission of money laundering by four firms, which she claims the anti-graft agency had used to inconvenience and embarrass her. Mentioned as defendants in the action are Skye Bank, Waripama-Owei Emmanuel Dudafa, former Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs to her husband and erstwhile President Goodluck Jonathan, Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited, Seagate Property Development and Investment Company Limited, Transocean Property and Investment Company Limited and Globus Integrated Service Limited. No date has, however, been fixed for hearing.
One of the aides of this ex- Nigeria’s First Lady confided in our correspondent that Patience is very angry and always complained that no former Nigeria’s First Lady has been this ridiculed. Her words: “First Lady is very angry now. She is complaining that no wife of Nigeria’s former president has been this rubbished. I can tell you that she is willing to teach EFCC a legal lesson they will never forget in a hurry. EFCC never respects Nigeria’s constitution.
For this reason, an affidavit in support of the originating summon sworn to by a legal practitioner, Sammie Somiari, and filed before the court by a Port Harcourt-based lawyer, Granville Abibo (SAN), the deponent averred that Mrs. Jonathan, on March 22, 2010 with the assistance of officials of the bank, Mr. Damola Bolodeoku and Dipo Oshodi, validly opened five different accounts with the financial institution. Surprisingly, Patience discovered that apart from one of the accounts that bore her name, the rest four carried names of four companies belonging Dudafa.
She also reportedly observed that the ATM cards of the said accounts were issued in the names of the companies, a development that allegedly necessitated her contacting Dudafa who purportedly promised to effect the necessary changes through the concerned bank official, Oshodi.
Somiari also claimed that Mrs. Jonathan was not a director, shareholder or participant in the companies, maintaining that the funds in the said accounts were entirely hers.
The defiance notwithstanding, the deponent added that Mrs. Jonathan kept using the cards until sometimes in July this year when she discovered that the facilities were no longer functioning and had to contact her account officer who instructed she lodges formal complaint for the bank to lift the freezing order placed on them.
The deponent said she was informed that the accounts had been frozen on the directive of EFCC following investigation of Dudafa. Patience argued that she was neither arrested nor invited by the anti-graft agency prior to the embargo and that several appeals to have the order reversed fell on deaf ears.
She claimed that the action by the bank without an order of the court was unlawful. Therefore, apart from her demand for $200 million as damages, she is also urging the court not only to declare that the no debit and freezing order is unlawful but to issue an order discharging it and restraining the EFCC and its agent from further or subsequently placing a no debit/freezing order on the said accounts.
