Court orders CBN, four others to pay N5.5b judgment debt before Sept 1

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) appears to be in fresh trouble, as a Federal High Court, Abuja has ordered it and four other banks to pay N5.5 billion judgment debt in an interest-yielding account before September 1.

The other affected financial institutions are Fidelity, Access, UBA, and Zenith whose case would not be heard upon receipt of payment of the huge punitive sum.

Justice Inyang Eden Ekwo gave the order as a condition for the hearing of the applications filed by the CBN and the four banks for the stay of execution of an order of garnishee made by the court since June 15.

“The garnishees are hereby ordered to pay the judgment sum into an interest-yielding account to be maintained by the chief registrar of this court as a condition for the application for a stay to be heard.

“This case is hereby adjourned to September 1, 2021, for the respective applications,” the judge ruled.

The banks are listed as garnishees in the suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1165/2020 initiated by a firm ­– Maggpiy Trading TFZE ­– to retrieve the lump sum in a judgment earlier given in its favour by the court in the case it filed against the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and chairman of its board.

In their applications, the financial entities are seeking to stay execution of the garnishee order pending the determination of their appeals.

Maggpiy Trading had sued the NCSB, its chairman, and the National Security Adviser (NSA), claiming that, on March 18, 2017, NCS officials unjustly sealed off its warehouses located within the Tinapa Free Trade Zone and Resort (TFTZR), Calabar, Cross River State.