The EFCC’s request to freeze 24 accounts held in various banks due to suspicions of supporting terrorism has been approved by the Federal High Court, Abuja Division.
After the attorney for the EFCC, Martha Babatunde, filed an ex parte motion to that effect, Justice Emeka Nwite allowed the application, allowing the commission to freeze the accounts for ninety days until the investigations were finished.
The motion ex parte submitted by Ekele Iheanacho was designated FHC/ABJ/CS/1897/V/2024.
Mr. Iheanacho requested an order freezing the bank accounts listed in the schedule, which belong to Lawrence Lucky Eromosele, who is presently under investigation in a kidnapping case, until the inquiry is over.
According to him, the EFCC is looking into issues related to money laundering and terrorism financing involving the bank accounts for which the relief was requested.
According to the senior attorney, the preliminary investigation thus far has shown that the bank accounts are connected to individuals who illegally manipulate the value of naira and launder the proceeds of illicit activities by using virtual cryptocurrency exchange platforms.
According to him, the money in the designated bank accounts had to be kept safe until the inquiry was finished and any potential charges were brought.
Mohammed Khalil, an investigator with the EFCC’s special investigative team based in the Office of the National Security Adviser, stated in his deposition that he was part of the team tasked with looking into the case.
According to him, the team was instructed by National Security Advisor Nuhu Ribadu to look into a serious threat posed by a cartel that was demanding ransom payments in order to endanger the lives of senior NSA agents.
He claimed that the crew started the probe by monitoring these syndicates’ operations and obtaining bank instruments as soon as they received the command.
According to Mr. Kalil, the inquiry identified one of the criminals as Lawrence Lucky Eromosele.
He claimed that the criminals directly threatened the operatives’ families by giving them their home addresses, family whereabouts, and precise movements, along with a threat of kidnapping if redemption payments were not made.
“One unidentified person contacted an agent and demanded some money in exchange for their freedom and that of their families,” he claimed. The printout of the conversation between one of the offenders and the agent is attached and designated as Exhibit EFCC 1.
According to the officer, the squad located bank accounts connected to the threat-makers in order to lessen some of the threats.
According to Mr. Kalil, the court’s order was required in order to freeze the aforementioned accounts, which are detailed in Schedule 1 of the motion paper and are the subject of an ongoing investigation.
Ms. Babatunde, representing the EFCC, told the court that the motion was dated and filed on December 17 when the hearing was resumed. According to her, the motion asked for an order to freeze the bank accounts included in the application’s schedule.
The attorney implored the court to provide the remedy.
When Justice Nwite inquired about the duration of the investigation, Ms. Babatunde replied that it would take 90 days.
The matter was postponed until March 24, 2025, for mention by the judge who approved the prayer.
