Court dismisses suit seeking to take N1trn from FG’s accounts

An FCT High Court has dismissed a suit seeking to garnishee the accounts of Federal Government bodies and agencies to the tune of N1 trillion.

Justice Jude Okeke on Monday refused the ex parte application by 52 chiefs in oil bearing communities of Delta State seeking to attach from source the funds of MDAs and services through the Treasury Single Account (TSA) valued at N99.9bn.

Justice Okeke said the application ought to have been taken to the Federal High Court based on the court’s statutory function provided in Section 254 (2) of the 1999 Constitution.

Chief Nelson Ogelegbanwei of Oporoza Community and the others brought the application for Garnishee Order Nissi to enforce the compensation awarded the communities of Gbaramatu Kingdom of Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State by a Federal High Court in Asaba on December 5, 2013.

The order followed presidential directive for the deployment of Nigerian Army, Navy and Air Force to the communities on May 13, 2009 leading to the bombardment of the communities.

The court had awarded them N49.4bn for special damages and N50bn for aggravated damages following the loss of lives, demolition and destruction of houses, wares, furniture, boats, canoes, and domestic animals in the affected communities, which is a violation of 217 (2) (c) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.

MDAs and agencies affected by the judgment include: Defence, Interior, Petroleum, Health, Transportation, Works, Power and Housing, Agriculture, and the Nigerian Army.

Others are: The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), NIMASA, NPA, FIRS, CAC, the Nigerian Customs, the CBN among others.