Following the order by the Federal High Court, Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday that his accounts should be immediately unfrozen, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, Thursday stormed the Ado-Ekiti branch of the Zenith Bank Plc.
Fayose stormed the premises of the bank at about 1:30 pm and made straight for the office of the Bank’s Branch manager, Mr. Mojeed Adekunle and presented a withdrawal cheque.
He reminded the bank manager that he had called at the bank following a court order served on the bank on Wednesday, December 14, to unfreeze his accounts.
Handing out the checque, the governor said he was ready to wait till anytime his money would be given to him in cash.
“I am ready to wait in your office till you close as I want my money in cash,” he said firmly.
Obviously complying with the court order, Mr. Adekunle promptly produced a copy of the said court order and confirmed to the governor that his office already received a copy as reported and would act on the directive from the governor immediately.
At exactly 3:30 pm, after two hours, the governor left the bank with cash of N5 million.
He declared: “I came to the bank after serving them with the court order and I made up my mind that I won’t leave the bank until my money is given to me. And the bank has done the needful by giving me part of the money, confirming that they have obeyed the court order.
“I want to thank Nigerians and my supporters for believing in our cause that Nigerians should not be oppressed. The rascality of EFCC must stop. And I want to thank the EFCC for obeying the court order. They placed order on two accounts, one has N82 million, the other has N300 million. I have collected N5 million now.
“I’m not closing the accounts, but if they attack my accounts again, I will make trouble with them, big trouble. If EFCC is appealing the court jugdement that is their funeral. As a sitting governor, my immunity is absolute just like that of the President.
“They should tell EFCC to shut up. There is no authority other than the authority of the constitution of this country which I enjoy. Rubbishing the office of the governor is as the same as rubbishing that of the President because after the President, Governors are the next. It is their time now, another people’s time will come tomorrow. There is no place for dictatorship in Nigeria,” he fumed
It would be recalled that Fayose’s two accounts with the bank was on June 20 frozen on the orders of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) through an exparte order received from Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court, Lagos on the allegation that the money therein were ‘proceeds of crime’.
Fayose had on June 28 challenged the seizure of the accounts in court through an affidavit sworn to by his lawyer, Barrister Bimpe Olatemiju who prayed the court to order an unfreezing of the governor’s accounts as the EFCC’s action negated the provisions of section 308 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 amended.
Lead legal counsel to Fayose, Chief Mike Ozekhome had also fought the legal battle with EFCC’s legal counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo for seven months, after which victory came the way of governor Fayose on Tuesday, December 13 when Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court, Ado-Ekiti, state capital in defence of the constitution, ordered that Fayose’s accounts be unfrozen with immediate effect.
He held that the freezing of the said accounts by the EFCC was illegal and violates the provisions of section 308 of the constitution which confered absolute immunity on the governor as a serving state executive who cannot be tried for any civil or criminal allegations.
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