Benue govt Zenith Bank account remains frozen: Court
The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court has ordered the unfreezing of all accounts belonging to the Governor Samuel Ortom-led Benue government except one domiciled in Zenith Bank.
Justice Inyang Ekwo gave the order after the adoption of a Memorandum of Undertaking (MOU) by lawyers representing parties in the suit. The MoU dated January 25 and filed on January 26 was adopted on February 1.
While the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria is the claimant/applicant in the case, HPPS Multilinks Services Ltd and the Benue government are first and second respondents.
T.D Pepe (SAN) adopted the MoU on behalf of the Benue government, and Val Igboanusi adopted it on behalf of the plaintiff. A. T Kehinde (SAN) adopted for Fidelity Bank Plc, and C. O. Nwosisi did for GTBank Plc and counsel for the other banks also adopted on behalf of their clients.
Mr Ekwo subsequently ordered that Zenith, with account No. 1013470079 designated as Benue Government Ecological Account, remain frozen in the sum of the disputed debt vide interim order of the court pending the determination of the case.
He, however, ordered the unfreezing of all Benue government accounts with Access Bank Plc, Citibank Nigeria Ltd, Ecobank Nigeria Ltd, Fidelity Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and Heritage Bank Pic. Others are Keystone Bank Ltd, Polaris Bank Ltd, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Standard Chartered Bank Ltd, Suntrust Bank Nigeria Ltd, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, UBA Plc, Unity Bank Nigeria Plc and Wema Bank Plc.
The judge adjourned the matter until March 2 for a report on the order.
“Pursuant to discussions and agreement by the parties, all other accounts of the Benue government frozen by this court vide interim order of October 26, 2021, are to be unfrozen while Account No. 1013470079 with Zenith Bank Plc, designated Benue Government Ecological Account shall remain frozen in the sum of the disputed debt, pending the determination or resolution of the dispute,” he stated.
The judge had, upon an ex parte application dated and filed on September 30, 2021, made an interim order freezing and attaching the accounts of both HPPS Multilinks Services Ltd and Benue government domiciled in the mentioned banks.
(NAN)
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
States
NISO announces planned outage on Jos-Bauchi-Gombe transmission line
The system operator commended electricity market participants and electricity consumers in the affected areas for their understanding and cooperation.
Showbiz
Tems emerges first African female artist to clinch Diamond single in US
Grammy-winning Nigerian singer,Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has become the first African female artist to earn a Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) Diamond-certified single
World
Seven die, over 40 injured as Ukraine bombs Russian warehouses in overnight reprisal
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, in a post on X, said the attack was a response to Russia’s earlier attack on its civilian infrastructure.
Showbiz
I desire music collaboration with Rihanna, says Davido
The “I Know Who I Be” crooner however expressed uncertainty about the collaboration happening anytime soon.
Education
Benue varsity VC seeks improved security for institution, host communities
Mr Fulata advised the university management to ensure prudent and transparent utilisation of available resources.
NationWide
Tinubu’s reforms helped to increase Imo revenue from N400 million to N6 billion monthly: Uzodimma
Mr Dare said that the bold economic decisions taken since the administration’s inception in May 2023 had defined the positive trajectory of Nigeria’s governance.
