- The accounts, held in seven banks, will remain frozen to allow for forensic investigations into the suspected terrorism-related transactions
The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the freezing of 13 bank accounts allegedly linked to Henry Okocha, a suspected terrorist.
The order, which came after an ex-parte application by the Department of State Services (DSS), was granted by Justice Peter Lifu.
The accounts, held in seven banks, will remain frozen for 60 days to allow for forensic investigations into the suspected terrorism-related transactions.
The DSS, represented by counsel Yunus Umar, argued that the freeze was necessary to prevent the funds from being used for illicit activities. According to an affidavit cited by the Daily Post, Okocha is accused of receiving millions of naira into these accounts, suspected to be proceeds of terrorism.
In a related development, the court had earlier ordered the freezing of 32 accounts linked to individuals and companies allegedly involved in the #EndBadGovernance protests. Justice Emeka Nwite, who issued this order, also directed banks to detain any account holders found transacting on the affected accounts pending investigation.
The accounts linked to Okocha are held in United Bank for Africa, Guaranty Trust Bank, Union Bank of Nigeria, First Bank of Nigeria, Providus Bank, Palmpay Limited, and Resolut Limited. The court, however, declined the DSS’s request to freeze the accounts for 90 days, limiting the freeze to 60 days.
Recently, the DSS also obtained an ex-parte order to freeze 20 bank accounts belonging to another suspect, Aisha Abdulkarim, also accused of terrorism.
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