
Former First Lady Patience Jonathan has said that she is the owner of the $31.4 million involved in an alleged fraud case instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, at the Federal High Court in Lagos.
The EFCC had charged former presidential aide, Amajuoyi Azubike-Briggs and former Skye Bank official, Damola Bolodeoku, as well as five other companies for alleged fraud to the tune of $31.4 million.
The anti-graft agency had also frozen the Skye Bank account where the money was allegedly kept.
However, counsel to the first defendant, Gboyega Oduwole, informed the court that the former First Lady has filed a fundamental application against the EFCC, claiming ownership of the money.
According to the application filed on September 6, 2016, Jonathan asked the court to make an order for the enforcement of her fundamental rights, in terms of reliefs she sought, and named the EFCC and Skye Bank Plc as defendants.
The former First Lady asked the court to make a declaration that the fund standing to the credit of four of the companies and an account in her own name in Skye Bank belonged to her.
She also asked the court to declare that the action of the respondents in placing a freezing order on the said accounts without any order of a competent court of law or prior notice to her, to be in breach of her fundamental rights as contained in Nigeria’s constitution.