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On Tuesday the Federal Court of Abuja ordered the temporary freezing of four Jaiz bank accounts connected to Mr. Mele Kyari, CEO of the Immediate Group (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) for the border accusations.
Judge Emeka Nwite issued the order after Ognechi Ujam’s lawyer of the Commission for Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC), Ogechi Ujam, moved the motion effect part.
Ujam had told the Court that investigations were underway on the matter and that the commission would need to conclude his discoveries.
Judge Nwite, therefore, considered that the question was meritoriously and consequently granted.
“I listened to the applicant’s consultant and crossed the declarative tests with the exhibitions and the written address attached.
“I discovered that this question is meritorious and is granted as a prefect,” he said.
The judge updated the matter until 23 September for the report.
The EFCC had, in the ex-party motion marked: FHC/Abj/CS/1641, dated 8 August but filed on 11 August, had sought an order.
The Commission prayed to the Court for an order that freezes the bank accounts indicated in the program.
He said that the accounts are owned by the suspicion (Kyari), “which is currently under investigation in a case that involves conspiracy crimes, abuse of offices and money laundering pending the conclusion of the investigations”.
These include: Jaiz bank account number: 0017922724 with account name: Kyari apples; Bank account number Jaiz: 0017922724 with the name of the account: apples Kyari; Bank account number Jaiz: 0018575055 with the name of the account: Guwori Community Dev. Bank number Fnd and Jaiz: 0018575141 with the name of the account: Foundation for the development of the Guwori community.
The anti-Innesto agency said that the application was submitted for three reasons.
He argued that the bank accounts for which relief are required are subjects of investigation by the Commission in relation to the undue appropriation of funds and the criminal violation of trust.
He also stated that the preliminary investigations conducted so far have revealed that the bank accounts are linked to the suspicion that he has taken advantage of the complainant to be a facilitator of the contract and proceeds for the recycling of illegal activities.
“That it is necessary to preserve the funds in the bank accounts identified pending the conclusion of the investigations and possible judicial proceedings”, he added
In the affidavit attached to the motion, Amin Abdullahi, an INFRCC investigator attached to the Special Investigation unit (SIS), said that the agency received a petition dated April 24 and presented by Guardian of Democracy and the rule of law against Kyari.
He said he was a member of the team assigned to investigate the matter.
“That at the reception of the petition referred to in paragraph 4 above, my team carried out various investigation activities that included the research and obtaining of bank registers from commercial banks,” he said.
The investigator declared that he also includes the research and reception of company details by the Commission for Business Affairs (CAC) in relation to the company bodies they presented in the event; inviting and interviewing people and representatives of companies and people who participated in the investigations; among other activities.
Abdullahi said that the investigations conducted so far revealed the following:
“That N661.464,601.50 (six hundred and sixty one million, four hundred e) which are suspected of being income of illegal activities held in four different accounts.
“This, these funds have been tracked down to the suspicious Mele Kolo Kyari, who is the former CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) CEO (GMD).
“That suspicion has opened various accounts in Jaiz Bank that has been used to receive suspicious affluses from NNPC and various oil companies that have relationships with NNPC.
“That bank registers have revealed that these accounts are controlled and managed by Mr. Kyari through his family members who act as fronts.
“Further investigations have revealed that the aforementioned transactions in the various accounts have been masked by payments for an alleged launch of books and activities of a non -governmental organization (NGO).
“That the Commission has written to the Jaiz Bank in which the cited accounts are domiciled for the concrete copies of the complete details of the account. While the responses of the banks are expected, the Commission has written to publish a debt education without only 72 hours.
“That I was informed by Ma Babunde Esq.
“An order of this honorable Court is needed to freeze the aforementioned Auditors clearly described in Annex 1 of the movement document for while investigations are underway.
“That it is in the interest of justice to grant this question,” the official deposed.
