An ambivalent Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti yesterday was reluctant to yield to Governor Ayo Fayose’s request to de-freeze his bank account at Zenith Bank, frozen by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Instead Justice Taiwo Taiwo ordered the EFCC and Zenith Bank, the first and second defendants, to show cause on July 4 why the relief sought by Governor Fayose should not be granted.
The judge, even though he said that he understood that the governor enjoyed immunity, held that the order being sought by the Fayose was a mandatory in nature (compelling order), hence the defendants must be heard before the order is given.
He said: “I agree that the applicant has immunity, pursuant to the provisions of the constitution. But it is glaring that the application he is requesting is a mandatory order to undo what had been done and the court can’t abdicate its duty under this circumstance.
“I am of the opinion that this mandatory order is better granted with the interlocutory order being sought through an application pending before the court, because the applicant has filed papers to this effect.
“I hereby ordered the first and second respondents to appear before this court on July 4 and show why the order should be refused.
“This is not a refusal of the order. I have not refused it; I only put it in abeyance, which I said without prejudice to what will be the position of the respondents.
“But a leave is granted for the service of the defendants with the originating summons in their addresses as contained in the order papers.”
The EFCC on June 21 froze Fayose’s Zenith Bank accounts with the following numbers 1003126654 and 9013074033 for allegedly being used to launder over N1.2 billion believed to be part of the $2.1 billion arms from the office of the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.)
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