Judge Orders EFCC to Defreeze Fayose’s Accounts

The Federal High Court sitting in Ado Ekiti Tuesday ordered the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to “defreeze Governor Ayodele Fayose’s accounts in Zenith Bank with immediate effect.

Justice Taiwo Taiwo who held that the anti-graft agency did not follow due process in taking such an action, described the EFCC action as illegal, wrongful, unlawful and unconstitutional: “I hereby give a mandatory order directing the Respondents jointly or severally to immediately de-freeze, unblock and make operational both accounts belonging to the Applicant.”

Fayose & EFCC The accounts were frozen by the EFCC in June, this year. The judge said the EFCC action breached the governor’s fundamental rights to fair hearing, as the commission did not make him a party to the proceedings for the interim freezing of the account.

He said that the EFCC suppressed facts by not disclosing to the court that granted the interim freezing order that the two accounts that were frozen belonged to Governor who enjoys total constitutional immunity.