The Federal High Court in Lagos
on Thursday ordered seven commercial banks in the country to temporarily
remit a total of $ 793,200,000 allegedly hidden with them in
contravention of the Federal Government's Treasury Single Account
policy.
Justice Chuka Obiozor ordered the seven banks to remit
the various amounts being allegedly kept illegally in their custody to
the designated Federal Government's Asset Recovery dollars account
domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The concerned
banks are United Bank for Africa; Diamond Bank Plc; Skye Bank Plc; First
Bank Limited; Fidelity Bank Plc; Keystone Bank Limited; and Sterling
Bank Plc.
According to court papers filed by counsel for the
Attorney General of the Federation, Prof. Yemi Akinseye - George (SAN), a
total of $ 367.4m was illegally hidden by three government agencies in
UBA, while a sum of $ 41m was illegally kept in a NAPIMS fixed deposit
account with Skye Bank.
The court papers stated that $277.9m
was hidden in Diamond Bank; $ 18.9m in First Bank; $ 24.5m in Fidelity
Bank; $ 17m in Keystone Bank; and $ 46.5m in Sterling Bank.
A
lawyer from Akinseye-George's law firm, Vincent Adodo, who deposed to a
15-paragraph affidavit in support of an ex parte application filed by
the AGF, stated that seven banks colluded with Federal Government
officials to hide the funds in breach of the government's TSA policy.
The
funds, he said, were revenues, donations, transfers, refunds, grants,
taxes, fees, dues, tariffs etc accruable to the Federal Government from
different ministries, departments, parastatals and agencies.
Adodo
said the banks had failed to remit the funds to the TSA domiciled in
the CBN in violation of the guidelines issued by the Accountant General
of the Federation which fixed September 15, 2015, as the deadline for
such funds to be moved.
He said, “The 1 st to 7 th respondents
(banks), in collaboration with and/ or collusion with unknown officials
of the Federal Government, conspired to disobey the relevant
constitutional provisions, thereby depriving the Government of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria of funds belonging to it, which are needed
urgently to fund pressing national projects under the 2017 budget. ”
Among the allegedly culpable government agencies is National Petroleum Developing Company.
Moving
the ex parte application on Thursday, Akinseye- George said it would
best serve the interest of justice for Justice Obiozor to order the
banks to remit the funds to the Federal Government , to prevent the
funds from being moved or dissipated.
“The withheld funds are
urgently required for the implementation of the 2017 budget. The budget
has a lifespan of 12 months and we are already in the middle of the
year. By hiding these hidden funds, the Federal Government is being
forced to borrow money from these commercial banks at exhorbitant
interest rate, ” Akinseye- George added.
After listening to the SAN, Justice Obiozor granted the interim orders.
He directed that the order should be published in a national daily newspaper.
He,
subsequently, adjourned till August 8, 2017, for anyone interested in
the funds to appear before him to show cause why the interim orders
should not be made permanent.
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