Federal High Court freezes bank accounts linked to hunger protests, orders arrests

The Federal High Court in Abuja has issued an order freezing the bank accounts of 32 individuals and companies allegedly linked to the #EndBadGovernance protests in Nigeria.

The order, issued by Justice Emeka Nwite, was in response to an ex-parte motion filed by the Inspector-General of Police’s counsel, Ibrahim Mohammed.

The court’s ruling, dated August 20, 2024, directs banks to freeze the accounts, disable ATM access, and arrest account holders or anyone found transacting on the affected accounts.

“That the banks are hereby directed by this honourable court to issue details of the account package(s) and to place a Post-No-Debit (PND) on the accounts, disable the ATM while allowing inflow into the said accounts as from the date of this court order,” the judge stated.

The court’s order follows allegations that the frozen accounts were involved in unlawful activities, including criminal conspiracy, terrorism financing, treasonable felony, cyberbullying, and cyberstalking.

The Inspector-General of Police’s counsel argued that the funds in these accounts were used to support illicit activities, including attempts to undermine Nigeria’s sovereignty.

“That the accused persons were involved in hosting another country’s flag in order to undermine the sovereignty of Nigerian state,” he counsel stated.

The court’s decision also mandates banks to report any arrests to the Nigeria Police Force. The accounts affected by the order include those held at Fidelity Bank, Access Bank, UBA, FCMB, and other financial institutions.

Meanwhile, the ruling has sparked concerns among civil rights groups, who argue that it may be an attempt to stifle dissent and silence critics of the government.