The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, has ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to unfreeze the bank accounts of the 20 #EndSARS promoters.
News central gathered that the accounts were frozen by the CBN in the aftermath of protests against a rogue police unit, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, that rocked Nigeria. The SARS has since been disbanded by the Inspector General of Police Adamu Adamu.
At the time of freezing the accounts, the CBN had said it took the decision because it was investigating their owners – the promoters of the protest – on allegations bordering on terrorism financing, among others.
Government critics saw the move as intimidating and aimed to prevent further demonstrations.
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), pointed out he’d been instructed by his clients to sue the Central Bank of Nigeria.
On Wednesday, Justice Ahmed Mohammed ordered the accounts to be unfreezed following the agreement reached by parties in the suit to amicably resolve the matter.
Justice Mohammed, who commended counsel to the CBN, Michael Andoaka, SAN, and lawyer to the defendants, Femi Falana, SAN, ruled that “all processes filed in respect of the case are hereby deemed to have been withdrawn.”
The judge, then, set aside the Nov. 4, 2020 order and ordered that all the accounts of the affected persons “be immediately defreezed.”
It was reported that the CBN, in an exparte motion marked: FHC/ABJ/ CS/1384/2020 had prayed the court to unfreeze the bank accounts of Bolatito Rachael Oduala and 19 others who participated in the last year protest to end police brutality in the country.
There are renewed calls for people to take to the streets on Saturday, February 13, to demand justice after security forces opened fire on people in Lagos in October – an event that abruptly ended the protests.
