The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has withdrawn an application seeking to stop Patience Jonathan, former first lady, from having access to her bank account.

The account was formally frozen at the instance of the EFCC but on April 6, Justice Mojisola Olatoregun of the Federal High Court, Lagos, issued a directive unfreezing the account which is said to contain $5.9 million.

But when the former first lady tried to withdraw some money from the account, she was informed that it was not possible as the EFCC had filed a stay of execution application against the ruling.

On the resumption of hearing of the stay of execution application on Tuesday, counsel to the anti-corruption agency, Rotimi Oyedepo, told the court that he was withdrawing the case.

Oyedepo explained that the EFCC had decided not to go ahead with the appeal against the order unfreezing the account.

Consequently, Jonathan’s counsel, Ifedayo Adedipe, also withdrew a contempt application against Skye Bank for refusing to grant the former Frst Lady access to her account.

Justice Olatoregun then granted the requests for the withdrawal of the applications.

This development is coming on the heels of numerous accusations from various quarters that the federal government is tactfully withdrawing charges against some notable individuals, thereby making a mockery of the anti-corruption campaign of the present administration.

Icirnigeria.org had published a detailed investigation of how corruption cases against some past government officials were withdrawn by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation. (You can read the report here.)

Some of the cases so far withdrawn or lost by the federal government include: the case against former minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe; the forgery case against Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, the case against Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the FederalHigh Court,  Abuja, and, now, the case of the former first lady, Patience Jonathan.