The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered four Nigerian banks to lift the post-No-Debit (PND) orders and unfreeze the accounts of five customers who were under police investigation for alleged foreign exchange fraud amounting to N150 million.
The order was issued by Justice Inyang Ekwo on September 19, 2024, following a motion ex parte filed by the Inspector General of Police against Aminu Bashir Danejo, Shamwilu Muhammed, CNN Marketing, Danejo Bello Bashir, and Assar Worldwide Trade(5th to 9th respondents) , with the four banks also listed as respondents.
According to the police in the case marked FHC/ABJ/CS/852/2024, the investigation has concluded, necessitating a court application to unfreeze the accounts “to allow the customers to resume their legitimate transactions.”
Facts of the Case
Court documents reviewed by Nairametrics reveal that the IGP received a petition dated April 14, 2022, from Afamefuna Ekekure Esq. against the 5th to 9th respondents for criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating, and obtaining a total sum of N150,000,000 through false pretenses.
A police official, Gregory Woje, stated that the investigation revealed that Bashir, in November 2021, approached the nominal complainant to buy $400,000 (USD) equivalent to N227,000,000, with the agreement that he would pay for the dollars before the complainant would credit the Naira equivalent.
The nominal complainant reportedly forwarded his account details to the suspect for the transfer of the dollars as agreed.
“The nominal complainant transferred the Naira equivalent to the 8th respondent.
“The complainant transferred the Naira equivalent to the suspect’s account, but during the transaction, he discovered that no dollars had been transferred to his account by the 8th respondent.
“It was at this juncture that he realized the proof of payment sent to him by the 8th respondent was forged,” he stated.
He added that the suspect admitted to sending forged proof of payment to the nominal complainant and mentioned that after the suspects were granted bail, “the nominal complainant agreed to settle the matter outside of the police.”
During the investigation, the police secured an order to freeze the disputed accounts to prevent further withdrawals.
Subsequently, Wisdom Madaki, the police lawyer, urged the court to unfreeze or lift the post-No-Debit on the accounts in the interest of justice, as the parties had agreed to settle.
What Transpired in Court
At the resumed hearing on September 19, 2024, the police legal team urged the court to grant their ex parte application.
Justice Ekwo granted the request, directing the banks to unfreeze the said accounts.
What You Should Know
The IGP is constitutionally empowered to investigate any act of criminality, and in this case, the police have concluded their investigation.
In performing their duties, the police often receive complaints from members of the public.
In this instance, the suspect admitted the offense and parties resolved to sort out the issues.