TheCable

The Kogi state government has dragged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to court over “unsubstantiated allegations” on bailout funds.

Over the past months, the anti-graft agency and the Kogi government have been at loggerheads over allegations that the state runs an account in Sterling Bank containing about N20 billion bailout loan.

The EFCC had alleged that there were suspicious fraudulent activities related to the account.

In August, a federal high court sitting in Lagos froze a Kogi state salary bailout account domiciled in Sterling Bank Plc following an ex-parte application brought by the EFCC.

The EFCC later claimed that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has received N19.3 billion recovered from the state account domiciled in the bank.

In its response, the state had asked the EFCC to apologise to Yahaya Bello, the governor, within 48 hours or face legal actions.

In a statement, on Sunday, the Kogi government said it has sued the commission at the state high court, demanding the sum of N35 billion as damages.

“The Kogi State Government, Accountant-General of the State, Momoh Jibrin; and Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Asiwaju Mukadam Asiru, were claimants in the suit, while the EFCC, Sterling Bank and Central Bank of Nigeria were listed as defendants,” the state said.

“The Government is demanding the sum of N35billion only as damages against the 1st defendant for the defamatory publication, titled, ‘Hidden N19.3bn Kogi salary bailout funds returned to CBN’ made on November 19, 2021 on her Facebook page containing amongst others, false and unfounded allegations of N19.3 billion being returned from Kogi State bailout account, which portrays fraud and misappropriation of public fund against the claimant.”

The state said the court granted “an interim injunction restraining the 1st Defendant/Respondent, its allies, agents, representatives, associates or whoever is acting for them or through them from doing anything either by inviting officials of the 1st Claimant or requesting for any document with respect to the issue involving Account No 0073572696 or any other account purportedly belonging to the 1st Claimant/Applicant domiciled with Sterling Bank Plc or any other bank registered and operating in Nigeria or otherwise relating to or pertaining to the affairs of the 1st Claimant whatsoever or its employees, appointees or associates pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice for Interlocutory Injuction.

The Kogi government asked for an order of this Honourable Court compelling the 1st Defendant to, within 48 hours of the order of this Court, publish in three national dailies, a retraction of her frivolous allegations and also tender unreserved apology to the Claimant for the defamatory publication written against the Claimant.”

The state also asked the court to declare the publication by EFCC as “misconceived, wrongful, illegal, null and void”.

The motion on notice will be heard on December 17.