Court Freezes Oyo Govt’s Accounts In 10 Banks over Unpaid Judgement Debt
An FCT High Court, Abuja has issued an order to freeze the accounts of the Oyo State Government in ten commercial banks across the country.
The banks in which the Oyo State Government’s accounts are blocked are Zenith Bank, United Bank of Africa (UBA), Wema Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, Ecobank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Access Bank, Polaris Bank, Jaiz Bank and Union Bank.
Justice A. O. Ebong gave the order while ruling in a garnishee motion marked: BW/M/85/2023, brought before the Court by ex-council chiefs in Oyo State, sacked on May 29, 2019, by Governor Seyi Makinde.
The Supreme Court, while voiding Makinde’s sack of elected Local Government Chairmen and Councillors in Oyo State, had on May 7, 2021, ordered the Governor, his Attorney General, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Accountant General of Oyo State, Speaker of the House of Assembly, the House of Assembly and the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) to pay the former council chiefs the sum of N4,874,889,425.60.
The ex-council chiefs, led by Bashorun Majeed Ajuwon, had initiated the garnishee proceeding to recover the balance of N3,424,889,425.60 (N3.5bn), which is outstanding from the actual judgment sum, from which Makinde paid only N1.5m in 2022.
Justice Ebong, in the ruling, ordered the garnishees (the banks) to “file affidavits and attend this court on the next adjourned date to show cause why the garnishee orders nisi hereby granted should not be made absolute.”
The judge also awarded N300,000.00 as cost against the judgment debtors; ordered that a copy of the order be served on Makinde and others and adjourned till January 5, 2024, for hearing.
