Managing Director of Ecobank
Nigeria Limited, Mr. Charles Kie, has filed a fundamental rights enforcement
suit before the Federal High Court in Lagos, seeking protection from police
harassment.
In the suit through his lawyer,
Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN), Kie claimed that the police had been stalking him,
with the aim of forcing Ecobank to “illegally” transfer $10.5m from the account
of one of its customers to a third party.
The MD recalled that policemen on
September 28 besieged the Corporate Headquarters of Ecobank on Ahmadu Bello
Way, Victoria Island, Lagos, seeking to arrest him “on the grounds that he
refused to comply with their instruction to illegally transfer the sum of
$10,500,000 from a customer’s account to a third party account.”
He said the policemen went as far
as bribing some security personnel stationed at the entrance of his office,
asking them to disclose the MD’s movement and his residential address to them.
Kie said as a result of the
“damaging scene” caused by the policemen, the bank’s business activities for
that day was disrupted.
He said he had since been living
under the fear of police intimidation and harassment, which he said had in turn
been taking its toll on Ecobank’s daily business activities where he has the
responsibility of making key decisions daily.
Kie is seeking an order of
perpetual injunction restraining the police from “harassing, oppressing,
detaining, arresting and/or intimidating the applicants or their officers or
interfering, in any way, with the personal liberty of the applicants or the
smooth running of their business in any manner whatsoever that will breach the
fundamental rights of the applicants.”
Joined as respondents in the suit
were the Inspector-General of Police; the Lagos State Commissioner of Police;
DCP Bolaji Salami; and one Akin Jegede.
On Thursday, a lawyer from
Idigbe’s chambers, A.I. Olawole, approached Justice Muslim Hassan, seeking an
interim injunction barring the police from harassing or arresting Kie pending
the determination of the fundamental rights enforcement suit.
In his ruling on Thursday,
Justice Muslim Hassan ordered that status quo should be maintained pending the
final determination of Kie’s N100m suit against the police.
He said the police should be put
on notice and adjourned hearing in the case till November 9.
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