The Federal High Court in Abuja has granted the request made by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to freeze 24 bank accounts over alleged terrorism financing.
The EFCC had filed an ex parte application requesting the court’s approval to freeze the bank accounts, some of which were reportedly linked to Lawrence Lucky Eromosele, who is under investigation in connection with a kidnapping case.
The anti-graft agency applied for the freeze on the grounds that the funds in the accounts needed to be protected pending the conclusion of the EFCC’s ongoing investigation.
In the ex parte application, filed by the EFCC counsel, Ekele Iheanacho (SAN), the commission indicated that the accounts were being scrutinised in relation to money laundering and terrorism financing activities.
Iheanacho added that the accounts were linked to proceeds of illegal activities, including the manipulation of the naira through cryptocurrency platforms and the laundering of funds associated with unlawful actions.
An affidavit attached to the application, deposed by Mohammed Khalil, an EFCC investigator working with the office of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, detailed the investigation into a syndicate that had been blackmailing and threatening senior operatives in the NSA’s office.
The threats included demands for ransom payments and the abduction of the operatives’ relatives.
The syndicate was reported to have provided home addresses, family locations, and specific movements of the operatives’ families.
Khalil further stated that the investigation identified bank accounts tied to the individuals responsible for these threats, which were mentioned in the application before the court.
The bank statements of one of the suspects were submitted as evidence and marked as exhibit EFCC 2.
According to intelligence gathered during the investigation, the funds in these accounts were covertly exchanged through cryptocurrency platforms for terrorist activities.
At the court session, EFCC counsel, Martha Babatunde, informed the court that the investigation would take 90 days and requested the court’s approval to freeze the accounts for that period.
The presiding judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, granted the application and adjourned the matter to March 24, 2025, for further mention.
(Punch)
