The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the freezing of three bank accounts which have been linked to the Lagos State Government.
Justice Chuka Obiozor made the order on Tuesday following an ex parte application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged N9.9bn fraud.
The EFCC had urged the judge to freeze the account ‘pending the conclusion of investigation and possible prosecution of Adewale Adesanya, the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Chief of Staff to former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’.
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In an affidavit filed in support of the ex parte application, a member of the EFCC investigating team, Kungmi Daniel, said the commission discovered “a huge inflow of N9,927,714,443.29” from the state accounts into a bank account opened on September 17, 2018, during the administration of former Governor Ambode and operated by Adesanya.
Daniel alleged that the schedule of the account showed how Adesanya and the other signatories to the account made fraudulent transfers from the accounts of the Lagos State Government and dissipated the funds housed in the said accounts.
“The trend in the account is that the account always witnessed huge inflow from Lagos State Government in the above scheduled accounts managed by the respondent (Adesanya),” the investigator said.
He added that upon the receipt of intelligence, the EFCC analysed it and found it worthy of investigation.
The EFCC also asked the court to grant it an order to temporarily attach and take over the accounts to enable it to conclude its investigations.
“There have been concerted efforts and attempts to dissipate the contents of the accounts listed in the schedule to this application.
“Without freezing the nominated accounts and temporarily forfeiting the money to the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, there is no way the fraud being perpetrated using the scheduled accounts can be stopped,” the EFCC said.
After listening to the submissions of the EFCC lawyer, Mohammed Abbas, Justice Obiozor granted the application and adjourned until September 9.
