Fred Ezeh, Okwe Obi, Abuja, Tony John Port Harcourt, Obinna Odogwu, Awka Chinelo Obogo and Chukwudi Nweje
Fourteen of the 20 alleged #EndSARS promoters whose accounts were frozen by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), yesterday, approached the Federal High Court in Abuja to set-aside the order.
The protesters, in a motion filed byFemi Falana (SAN), argued that they were denied fair hearing by the court. They also accused the CBN of not only lying to the court when it painted them as suspected terrorists, but also engaging in gross abuse of judicial process.
They contended that the freezing order the court issued against them on November 4, was “anchored on misrepresentation of material facts and based on suppression of material facts” by the CBN. Listing 13 grounds the court should consider and unfreeze their accounts, the applicants, argued “that the ex-parte order made on the 4th day of November, 2020, by this Honorable Court was made to validate an illegal act.”
“The plaintiff/respondent unlawfully froze the accounts of the defendants/applicants before seeking and obtaining the orders of this Honourable Court on November 4, 2020. This Honorable Court on the 4th day of November, 2020 pursuant to an ex parte application brought by the plaintiff/respondent, made a mandatory order, inter alia, empowering the plaintiff/applicant to direct the head of Access Bank of Nigeria Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, First Bank Plc, Guarantee Trust Bank Plc, United Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc to freeze forthwith all transactions on the 20 Bank Accounts of the defendants/applicants for a period of 90 days pending the outcome of investigation and inquiry currently being conducted by the CBN without affording the respondents/applicants the right of fair hearing.
“The said order of the Honorable Court permitting the Plaintiff/Respondent to freeze the Applicants account for a period of 90 days (renewable for another 90 days) breached the fundamental right of the Defendants/Applicants, to fair hearing guaranteed by Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Laws of the Federation, 2004 in that no fair hearing was granted the applicant/respondent before the order was made. The order permitting the Plaintiff/Respondent to freeze the Defendants/Applicants account violates Order 26 Rules 5, 10 And 11(1) and (2) Of the Federal High Court Civil Procedure Rules, 2019 which prescribes a maximum period of 14 days as the duration of an ex parte order. “The Plaintiff/Respondent is neither one of the investigative agencies nor prosecuting agencies recognised under the Terrorism Prevention Act, 2011 and the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act, 2013. “The said other violated the rights of the Defendants/Applicants to own movable property.
in the same vein, the Concerned Professionals, has condemned the arrest and freezing of accounts of some protesters, saying it was unfortunate the courts were being used to deny citizens their fundamental rights and to sanction illegality.
In a statement signed by Dr. Muiz Banire (SAN), Dr. Isuwa Dogo, Femi Falana (SAN), Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, Olutola Mobolurin, Prof. Pat Utomi on behalf of the group, it said the aftermath of the EndSARS protest was expected to make government adopt a more realistic approach to solving problems confronting the country, but rather than developing trust, the government has embarked on victimisation and witch-hunting of sponsors of the protests by seizing their passports, arresting and detaining them, sometimes with no or spurious charges and freezing their account.
The group said the approach was a reinforcement of the lack of trust the youths have in the government.
“We condemn the victimisation efforts being visited on the EndSARS protesters in totality, urge maturity on the part of the government and stop the adoption of undemocratic and inhuman method in dealing with the aftermath of the EndSARS protests. Protest is a constitutional and democratic right which cannot earn the kind of victimisation going on.
“We therefore urge the government to implement the five-for-five accepted demands of the youths and engage them genuinely. No amount of intimidation or harassment will work as it will only exacerbate tensions in an otherwise fragile polity.
“We also urge traditional rulers and progressive politicians to avoid them being used to sanction these acts by conflating the EndSARS protests with the criminal arson and looting that followed the protests. These rounds of regional meetings of traditional rulers and political leaders smack of manipulation to create a pseudo-national consensus on the continuing and planned violation of rights of citizens. Fundamental human rights are universally cherished rights. The country especially in its current economic straights should avoid becoming a pariah state as its youths are forced into exile as in the NADECO days. The news of the appearance of one of the activists of EndSARS in Canada is ominous. Our youths must not be made exiles just for speaking up. Neither must they come to harm in the country.”
Meanwhile, the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has asked Federal Government to quickly attend to the demands of the youths as demonstrated during the EndSARS protest, insisting that it is a wake up call to all. IPAC Chairman, Dr. Leonard Nzenwa, made the suggestion during the inauguration of the newly elected executives of IPAC in Abuja.
He said the new executives have “rolled their sleeves” in readiness for work that would, expectedly, strengthen and unify political parties in Nigeria.
