The Federal High Court in Lagos has granted an interim order for seven
\ncommercial banks in Nigeria to remit a total of $793,200,000, allegedly
\nhidden with them in violation of the Constitution and the Treasury Single
\nAccount (TSA) policy of the Federal Government.<\/p>\n
Presiding Justice Chuka Obiozor on Thursday directed the banks to remit to
\nthe designated CBN Asset Recovery Dollars Account, various amounts
\nallegedly kept in their custody illegally.<\/p>\n
The interim order was given after the court listened to an ex-parte
\napplication filed by counsel to the Attorney General of the Federation,
\nProfessor Yemi Akinseye-George.<\/p>\n
While arguing the application, Professor Akinseye-George said it would
\nbest serve the interest of justice for the court to order the banks to
\nremit the funds to the Federal Government to prevent the funds from being
\ndiverted, misapplied, stolen or misappropriated.<\/p>\n
He also stressed that the withheld funds are urgently required by the
\nFederal Government for executing the 2017 budget.<\/p>\n
After listening to him, Justice Obiozor granted the interim orders.
\nHe also directed that the order should be published in a national daily
\nnewspaper.<\/p>\n
In early August 2015, the Federal Government had directed all Ministries,
\nDepartments, and Agencies (MDAs), including to make payments into a
\nTreasury Single Account (TSA).<\/p>\n
The government\u00a0had expressed optimism that the directive would promote
\ntransparency and facilitate compliance with Sections 80 and 162 of the
\n1999 Constitution.<\/p>\n
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
\n(NNPC), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Nigerian Maritime
\nAdministration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) were also affected by the
\npolicy.<\/p>\n
Other agencies include the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), Nigeria
\nCommunication Commission (NCC), Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria,
\n(FAAN) and Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) among other government
\nagencies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Federal High Court in Lagos has granted an interim order for seven commercial banks in Nigeria to remit a total of $793,200,000, allegedly hidden with them in violation of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43772,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n