Titi Bajulaye,
Abuja
There might be trouble ahead of the Roosevelt Michael Ogbonna-led financial institution, Access Bank Plc.
This is as the bank and its top management continue to abuse court orders and judgements barely three months into Ogbonna’s tenure.
The latest in a long list of court orders and ruling to have been ignored without consequence is that of Justice Yellin S. Bogoro of the Lagos Federal High Court in a suit instituted against the bank by the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON).
It would be recalled that COSON had dragged Access Bank to court alleging among other things the unlawful freezing of its account.
In a judgement given on Wednesday, May 4th, 2022, and in favour of the copyright collective management organization, Justice Bogoro among other orders ordered the financial institution to unfreeze COSON’s accounts in the bank and pay damages for its unlawful action.
He had ordered an immediate unfreezing of the bank accounts of COSON at the bank and the payment of 70 Million Naira to COSON in damages for the unlawful freezing of its accounts.
However, in a total disregard of the judgement by Justice Bogoro, and in an attitude that can only be described as ‘daring’, Access Bank has neither appealed the judgement of the court, unfroze the said accounts nor paid any damages.
In a statement to www.theoctopusnews.com, COSON stated that following the disregard of the order by Access Bank, it has responded by commencing contempt proceedings against the financial institution.
Furthermore, COSON stated that it has just filed a “Notice of Consequences of Disobedience to Order of Court”, otherwise known as Form 48, at the Federal High Court, Lagos directed at Ogbonna and Ifeyinwa Osime, the bank’s company secretary. The statement added that COSON was forced to act as such as a result of being weary of Access Bank’s intransigence.
Documents spotted by www.theoctopusnews.com read thus: “TAKE NOTICE that unless you obey the order contained in the judgement of this Honourable Court dated the 4th day of May 2022 to wit: “An order of this court is hereby made directing the Defendant to IMMEDIATELY unfreeze the Plaintiff’s account with the bank frozen without any court order whatsoever and to release all restrictions placed on the plaintiff’s bank accounts including the withdrawal of funds from the account.
“An Order of injunction is hereby made restraining the Defendants or its agents, privies or servants from further freezing the accounts of the Plaintiff or placing any restriction on the accounts of the Plaintiff without a valid court order, you will be guilty of contempt of court and will be liable to be committed to prison.”
Interestingly, this is not the first time that Access Bank Plc would be daring a Justice of the Federal High Court over the same matter.
In 2019, Access Bank also called the bluff of Justice M.S. Hassan who had earlier given an interim order for the freezing of COSON’s account on November 30, 2018, but subsequently ordered that the accounts be re-opened because his court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the suit with number suit with No. FHC/L/CS/1819/2018.
Also, on December 2, 2019, as a result of an abuse of court order, Justice Hakeem Oshodi of Lagos State High Court, Ikeja division threatened to issue a bench warrant for the arrest of Herbert Wigwe, the then Group Managing Director of Access Bank Plc now turned GMD/CEO Access Holdings in a trial over alleged $6.3 million fraud.
The absence of Wigwe and six others in court prevented their arraignment on a four-count charge of conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to obtain money by false pretence, obtaining money by false pretence and stealing.
All the defendants were also alleged to have conspired with Augusta Energy of Geneva, Switzerland, to defraud the complainant, Top Oil and Gas Development Limited to the tune of over $6.3 million.
On Thursday, December 14, 2017, a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, in Bwari, Abuja, issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Wigwe, and Neka Adogu also a senior staff of the bank.
Justice Othman Musa issued the arrest warrant after the lawyer for the prosecution, Osuebeni Akposinimingha complained of difficulty in getting Wigwe and others to attend court to answer charges pending against them.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had earlier filed a four-count charge marked CR/32/2017 against Wigwe and others, following which the court fixed a date for their arraignment.
Wigwe, Adogu and the bank were accused of among other things refusing to unfreeze some accounts belonging to two customers namely Blaid Construction Limited and Blaid Properties Limited, even after a court order and a directive to that effect from the ICPC.
The latest in the series of abuse of court orders and judgment is that involving COSON. For almost four years, and without any court order, Access Bank has continuously denied members of COSON the right to their royalties as a result of the continuous freezing of the accounts in the bank, and despite a direct instruction from the copyright society for such payments to be made.
The big question begging for an answer is who will stop Access Bank from its continuous embarrassment of the county’s legal system.
Efforts to reach Abdul Imoyo, Head Media Relation, Access Bank Plc were unsuccessful, as several calls to his mobile number 080231452**were unanswered.
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