CHRSJ To Drag EFCC, 3 Banks To Court Over Engr Olajide’s Account

A human rights organization, the Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice, CHRSJ, has concluded arrangement to drag the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC, and three Nigeria banks to Court of competent
jurisdiction over alleged illegal freezing of bank accounts belonging to one
Engr. Olufemi Emmanuel Olajide, a Lagos based contractor.

The banks to be taken to Court along side the anti-graft agency are Access Bank ,Heritage Bank and Zenith Bank.

The rights group also gave 14-days ultimatum to the anti-graft body and aforementioned banks to unconditionally unblock the five accounts belonging to Engr. Olajide, the Chairman/Managing
Director, OFEM A Construction Company Limited, Ikorodu, Lagos.

The rights group said it would not hesitate after the
expiration of the ultimatum to approach the Court of Law to seek redress for the innocent Nigerian contractor, saying that since the illegal freezing of the accounts, the EFCC and the banks had made life
unbearable for Engr. Olajide and his entire household.

A Lagos based Lawyer, Barrister Nurudeen Ogbara, has equally written
a strong worded petition dated 23rd February, 2020, to the
Chairman of the Commission (EFCC), registering his firm’s displeasure over the illegal closure of the bank accounts of an innocent and law
abiding citizen of the country, Engr. Olufemi Emmanuel Olajide.

In a statement signed by the CHRSJ’s Executive Chairman, Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman and copies made available to newsmen on
Tuesday, the group disclosed that the decision of the Commission to freeze the
accounts without thorough investigation amounted to abuse of due process, diligent investigation and disrespect to the fundamental human right to fair hearing, declaring that the EFCC and the banks
actions were illegal, unconstitutional, satanic, ungodly and abuse of power.

Comrade Sulaiman stated that the EFCC unjustly blocked the Zenith Bank Account with number:1012808033, belonging to OFEM A Construction Company Limited, Zenith Bank Account with number:1160025847/2002897156, Access Bank with number: 0717257960 and Heritage Bank with number: 1000504714 , all belonging to Engr. Olufemi Emmanuel Olajide.

Part of the Petition Letter of Ogbara Law firm read thus; “That Tuesday 5th day of February, 2019, our clients were seriously astonished and greatly alarmed to discover that the aforementioned four (4)
accounts were frozen by EFCC without any Court order or any prior reference to our clients”.

“That our Clients were therefore compelled to immediately go to the
office of the EFCC at Ikoyi to find out the reason their said four accounts were frozen without any lawful justification but no staff of the Commission was able to give any clue to our clients who kept visiting the EFCC office on a daily basis without any explanation for this action.”

“That on Monday, the 18th day of February, 2019, our clients
Chairman/Managing Director, Engineer Olufemi Emmanuel Olajide was traced from his office in Ikorodu and eventually arrested and taken to EFCC’s
office in Ikoyi where he was detained and subjected to series of interrogations and deprivations as per the freezing of the afore-said
accounts.”

“That our clients confidently responded to all questions he was asked in relation to all the accounts and business initiatives and he confirmed that he submitted a construction bid to the Government of Adamawa State and he was optimistic that his bid would be favourably considered and that he looked forward to doing business with Adamawa
State Government.”

The letter added that “it was at this stage that the EFCC officers interrogating him realised that our clients were not even aware that a fraud had been committed in connection with the contract issue but the said officers still kept our clients in the dark and in detention while they claimed to continue to investigate the fraud.”

It was learnt that Engineer Olajide was transferred to the Zonal Office of the EFCC in Gombe where he was illegally detained for few days before he was given an administrative bail and since then, he has
been urging the anti-graft body to defreeze his accounts through a Letter dated 12th of November, 2019, because he has nothing to do with alleged fraud.

Separate investigation conducted by CHRSJ revealed that Engr. Olajide was innocent of the whole issue and he was just a victim of circumstances orchestrated by the immediate past Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Adamawa State, who has vested interest in the same construction contract for his friend.

But when the former Attorney- General realised that the State Government had concluded arrangement to give the construction contract
to the construction company of Engr Olufemi Emmanuel Olajide, he
just used his position then to drag EFCC into the matter that lead to the unjust arrest and subsequent interrogation of Engr Olajide with the aim of stopping the State Government from giving the contract to the Lagos based Ofem A Construction Company, which the then Commissioner for
Justice has achieved.

Sulaiman, who doubles as the Convener, Save Lagos Group (SLG), therefore, urged
the Acting Executive Chairman of EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, to give immediate directive to the aforementioned banks to unfreeze the affected bank accounts without delay.