₦airaland Forum

Treash:
By the provision of By the provisions of Section 34(1) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act, 2004, “Before freezing customer’s account or placing any form of restraint on any bank account, the bank must be satisfied that there is an order of court. The EFCC has no power to give direct instructions to banks to freeze the account of a customer without an order of court, so doing constitutes a flagrant disregard and violation of the rights of a customer.”

The point must be noted that EFCC is not a court of law. Where EFCC wish to move against the account of any person suspected of crime, due process must be followed by first making an application to court then Court's order will be given.

A case was decided by the Court of Appeal in 2019. EFCC directed GTB to freeze the account of one Mr Adedamola without Court's order, and GTB obeyed. Mr Adedamola files for the enforcement of his fundamental right in court and the court decided that the said account be released and damages (compensation) be paid to him.

Barr Ayo Adeolu Aderinto.