Court gavel
Federal High Court in Abuja has granted 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 EFCC alleged that Njoku received $14,000 from a petitioner, Mary Njoku, a Japanese resident of Nigerian descent, to pay her tuition fees in a Canadian institution.
However, despite multiple requests, Njoku failed to refund the sum of $13,353.90 after the institution refunded the tuition fees into his account.
Justice Ekerete Akpan granted the EFCC’s ex-parte motion, ordering that the account be frozen for 14 days.
“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 EFCC’s investigation revealed that the sum of $13,353.90 remains in Njoku’s account, with the last recorded credit interest bringing the total balance to $13,386.24 as of April 30. The commission suspects that the funds in the account represent the proceeds of criminal breach of trust and are liable to be preserved pending conclusion of investigation and possible prosecution.
