The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, granted the application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to freeze the United Bank for Africa (UBA) account of Cyriacus Njoku, a Nigerian, based in Germany, over alleged criminal breach of trust.
The judge, Ekerete Akpan, granted the request after EFCC’s lawyer, G.I. Ndeh, moved the ex-parte motion to the effect.
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Mr Ndeh urged the court to grant the application, which was filed on 17 June.
The judge, in a short ruling, ordered that the account should be frozen for a 14-day period.
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“This application is granted in terms of prayers 1 and 2.
“The order shall remain in force only for 14 days commencing from today and the order shall elapse after 14 days,” the judge ruled.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the anti-graft agency, in the ex-parte motion marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1178/2025, sought two orders.
One of the applicant’s prayers sought freezing the funds in a United Bank for Africa (UBA) account with number 3003068433, belonging to Njoku Nnamdi Cyriacus, pending the conclusion of investigation or possible prosecution.
He also sought an order directing UBA to place a ‘Post No Debit’ (PND) restriction on the said account forthwith pending the conclusion of the investigation.”
A legal assistant with EFCC, Ufuoma Ezire, wrote in an affidavit filed in support of the agency’s applications that the commission received a petition via an email on 28 January from “Mary Njoku, a Japanese resident of Nigerian descent, alleging criminal breach of trust and financial fraud against the suspect, Njokw Cyriacus, who resides in Germany.”
He said the petitioner stated that she had been residing outside Nigeria since 2016 and had been sponsoring the education of the suspect for over two years, both in Nigeria and Germany.
“That in 2023, she secured admission into an institution in Canada and based on her existing relationship of trust with the suspect, she requested him to assist her in facilitating the payment of her tuition fees from Nigeria, using his domiciliary account in United Bank for Africa.
“That acting on this arrangement, the petitioner transferred a total of $14,000 USD into the suspect’s UBA dollar account number: 3003068433 in two tranches on 27 June 2023 and 30 June, 2023 with the understanding that he would remit same to the Canadian institution on her behalf.
“That subsequently, the petitioner was denied a Canadian visa, and the institution refunded the tuition fees of $13,353.90 USD into the said UBA account of the suspect on 27 May 2024.
“That the respondent (Cyriacus) despite multiple requests, has failed, refused, and neglected to refund the said sum of $13,353.90 to the petitioner and has since ceased all communication with her,” the affidavit read partly.
The EFCC official said based on the investigation conducted so far, it had been established that the said sum of $13,353.90 remains in Cyriacus’ account, with the last recorded credit interest bringing the total balance to $13,386.24 as at April 30.
“That the statement of account issued by UBA, annexed herewith, confirms the lodgment of the two tranches of funds and the current credit balance in the said account,” the EFCC official added.
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According to him, the commission reasonably suspects that the funds in the suspect’s account represent the proceeds of criminal breach of trust and are liable to be preserved pending the conclusion of investigation and possible prosecution.
“The commission seeks the order of this honourable court to freeze the said account to prevent the dissipation of the funds therein and secure the subject matter of investigation.
“It is in the interest of justice to grant this application in order to prevent further financial injury to the petitioner and to preserve the funds pending the outcome of investigation,” he said.
(NAN)
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