The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja has frozen the accounts of the Oyo State Government in ten commercial banks in Nigeria. The freezing order was issued by Justice A. O. Ebong as a result of a garnishee proceeding initiated by former council leaders in Oyo State who were relieved of their positions on May 29, 2019 by Governor Seyi Makinde.
These sacked local government chairmen and councillors secured a judgment worth N4,874,889,425.60 against Makinde and other state officials and agencies in 2021. According to the Supreme Court judgment on May 7, 2021, the Attorney-General, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Accountant-General of Oyo State, Speaker of the House of Assembly, the House of Assembly, and the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) are listed along with Makinde as judgment debtors.
The ex-council leaders, led by Bashorun Majeed Ajuwon, pursued the garnishee proceeding to recover the outstanding balance of N3,424,889,425.60 (N3.5 billion) from the actual judgment sum, as Makinde had only paid N1.5 billion in 2022. The Court of Appeal in Abuja then increased the outstanding amount by adding N50 million as costs against Makinde and others in a judgment on December 8.
The accounts of the state government in banks such as Zenith Bank, United Bank of Africa (UBA), Wema Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, Ecobank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Access Bank, Polaris Bank, Jaiz Bank, and Union Bank were frozen.
Justice Ebong’s ruling, issued on December 15, ordered the garnishees (the banks) to file affidavits and appear in court on the next adjourned date to justify why the garnishee orders should not be made absolute. The judge also imposed a cost of N300,000.00 against the judgment debtors and instructed that a copy of the order be served on Makinde and others. The case was adjourned until January 5, 2024, for further hearing.
