The Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has vacated an interim order that froze 124 bank accounts belonging to prominent businesswoman Aisha Achimugu and companies associated with her.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Wednesday by a three-member panel of justices, Muhammad Ibrahim Sirajo, Ishaq Mohammed Sani, and Eleojo Enenche, the appellate court ruled that keeping the ex parte freezing order in force for over 15 months amounted to an abuse of court process.
The interim order was originally granted by Justice Turaki Adamu of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt on April 10, 2025, at the request of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
It affected accounts linked to Achimugu, founder of Oceangate Engineering Oil & Gas Ltd, and barred banks from permitting any debit transactions.
Achimugu had challenged the order, arguing it constituted an abuse of process. She also raised concerns over the alleged unlawful transfer of N1.8 billion from a related account to the EFCC’s recovery account at the Central Bank of Nigeria, despite the freezing order.
The Federal High Court later ruled the transfer unlawful and ordered the funds returned. Dissatisfied, the EFCC appealed the decision on grounds including lack of jurisdiction during the court’s vacation period, denial of fair hearing, and improper evaluation of evidence.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Sirajo upheld the lower court’s authority to deliver a reserved judgment during the annual vacation, dismissed the fair hearing complaint, and affirmed that a court granting a freezing order has the power to issue necessary consequential orders to preserve the subject matter of litigation.
However, the appellate court set aside the order for the return of the N1.8 billion, noting that the funds originated from a fixed deposit account not covered by the original freezing order, which targeted specific current accounts with much smaller balances. The court clarified that its decision did not validate the EFCC’s transfer action.
On the core issue, the Court of Appeal held that interim ex parte freezing orders are meant to be temporary measures pending the hearing of a motion on notice.
Allowing such an order to subsist for more than 15 months defeated its purpose. Consequently, the appellate court discharged and vacated the entire interim freezing order issued on April 10, 2025, against Achimugu and the linked corporate entities.
This ruling represents a significant legal victory for the businesswoman in her long-running battle with the anti-graft agency.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com