Over 100 Ijaw women wednesday besieged the Federal High Court in Lagos to show solidarity with the former first lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, whose suit against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) came up before Justice Babs Kuewumi.

In the suit, Mrs. Jonathan is seeking to unfreeze her accounts.

The women stormed the court premises, chanting songs of protest, calling for the former first lady’s accounts to be unfrozen.

The respondents in the suit are the EFCC, Skye Bank Plc, and a former Special Assistant to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Waripama-Owei Dudafa.

Also joined in the suit are: Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited, Seagate Property Development and Investment Company Limited, Transocean Property and Investment Company Limited, and Globus Integrated Service Limited.

The former first lady is demanding the sum of $200 million from the commission as damages for infringing on her rights.

She is also urging the court to issue an order discharging the freezing order, and to restrain the EFCC and its agents from further placing a freezing order on the said accounts.

When the case was called yesterday, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo announced his appearance for the EFCC, while Mr. Granville Abibo (SAN) announced his appearance for Mrs. Jonathan.

Addressing the court, Oyedepo informed the judge that the matter was coming up for the first time, adding that some of the respondents were yet to be served with the court’s processes.

He submitted that the matter was not yet “ripe for hearing”, having been served with the processes on October 19 and was yet to file a response.

The submission was not contested by counsel to the plaintiff.

Consequently, Justice Kuewumi fixed December 7 for hearing of the case.

In an affidavit in support of the suit deposed to by one Sammie Somiari, a legal practitioner, he averred that on March 22, 2010, she (Mrs. Jonathan) had opened five different accounts with Skye Bank, with the aid of one Damola Bolodeoku and Dipo Oshodi.

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