The Federal High Court in Lagos has placed a “Post No Debit” (PND) on the accounts of seven businessmen and four firms in eight banks pending an investigation of how N1,426,100,430 was fraudulently transferred from a Lebanese firm.
Justice Akintayo Aluko granted the order on August 20, 2024, following a motion ex parte moved and argued by the Department of State Security (DSS), through its counsel Michael Bajela.
The order subsists for 90 days.
The complainant in the suit is Fouani Nigeria Limited, while the respondents affected by the order and their bank details are:
Haruna Adam Abubakar – 1709985717 (Access Bank), Anthony Godwill Ifeanyi – 1236732473 (Access Bank), Tochukwu Modestus Obodoefuna – 1565420706 (Access Bank), M. Munzali Dara Worldwide Business – 5601060742 (Fidelity Bank), Anthony Ifeanyi Electronic Trading – 5420158002 (Keystone Bank), Kholobekian Joseph Mesrob – 1016886802 (UBA), Izuchukwu Stanley Alaman Jo – 2137303667 (UBA), A.S. Rano Lubricant Toll Inv. Ltd – 1305567771 (Providus Bank), Obioma Emeka Daniel – 1005922923 (FCMB), Esto World Mega Venture Resources – 2004467010 (Globus Bank), and Mubarak Buhari – 8066868814 (Opay).
The court thereafter adjourned further proceedings until November 22, for the report of compliance.
“Post No Debit” is a term used to describe a restriction imposed by banks on specific accounts, preventing customers from making withdrawals, transfers, or any other debits from their accounts.
In applying for the order, Mr. Bajela supported his application with an affidavit sworn by a DSS operative, Joshua Babalola.
Babalola averred that the Applicant (DSS) received a petition from the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS) with the heading “Request for investigation into unauthorized fund transfers on Fouani Nigeria Limited Account.”
The petition was dated the 1st day of August, 2024, and signed by Richard Bello, Chief Audit Executive, and Olusola Odediran, Chief Information Security Officer.
“The petitioner claimed that the sum of N1,426,100,430.00 was fraudulently transferred by the respondents from Fouani Nigeria Limited account numbers 0690342734 (Access Bank), 0004018789 (GTBank), 1010248929 (Zenith Bank), and 1004536508 (UBA Bank).”
“The petitioners, therefore, plead with the Applicant to investigate the matter and also stop the respondents from removing the money from their various Bank accounts mentioned in the face of our motion paper,” Babalola stated.