The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Friday stopped the federal government from going ahead to deduct the sum of $418 million from the bank account of the 36 states government of Nigeria.
The trial Judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo, issued that restraining order against the federal government following an application argued by counsel to the 36 states, Jibrin Otukepa and Ahmed Raji, both Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
While moving the application, Otukepa who led the legal team of the states told the court that the states would be completely crippled if the federal government should go ahead to deduct the huge amount from the bank accounts of its clients.
The senior lawyers told the court that the federal government predicted the plan to deduct the $418million from the state account monthly to service debt for contracts allegedly executed for the states.
Okutepa said that the 36 states Attorneys General have scrutinized the purported contract and judgment and found that the states were not parties to the court action that resulted in the judgment debt and further submitted that the purported contract claimed to have been executed for the states are not known to any of the 36 state governments and is, therefore, a phoney contract.
He further told the court that the federal government was the only party to the court case that brought the judgment and therefore such judgment is not binding on the state government.
After listening to the arguments of the 36 states, Justice Ekwo ordered the federal government not to go ahead to make any deduction from the state account in respect of the purported court judgment until all issues relating to it are fully determined.
The Judge adjourned the matter till November 30, 2021, and ordered the plaintiffs’ counsel to serve all processes on the defendants before the adjourned date.
Defendants in the suit are the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Finance Minister, Accountant General of the Federation and all banks in Nigeria among others.
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Court stops FG’s alleged bid to unlawfully deduct $418m from state governments account. Court stops FG’s alleged bid to unlawfully deduct $418m from state governments account.
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