Court unfreezes 16 accounts belonging to former first lady, Patience Jonathan

The Federal High Court in Abuja has reversed its order made on May 30, to freeze 16 accounts belonging to Patience Jonathan, the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan.


At the hearing of an application filed by the former first lady today December 5th, the presiding judge, Justice Binta Nyako, withdrew the order on the grounds that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which secured the freezing order, failed to conduct a proper investigation into the case.

Speaking after the ruling, counsel to Mrs Jonathan, Mike Ozekhome, said the court had ordered the EFCC to conduct its investigation within 90 days of freezing the accounts in May. However, the antigraft agency failed to carry out the said investigation within the given period.