A chief magistrate’s court in Ogba, Lagos, has sentenced Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, the Managing Director of Fidelity Bank, and Ezinwa Unuigboje, the bank’s secretary, to six weeks in prison.
The court, presided over by Magistrate Lateef Owolabi, sentenced the duo to prison after they disobeyed a garnishee order restraining the bank from allowing a judgment debtor access to his account.
On December 6, 2022, Owolabi issued the garnishee order for 17 banks not to grant Enabulele Ozaze, a judgment debtor, access to his bank accounts until he paid a judgment debt of N2.8 million.
Ozaze was ordered to refund Jibrin Ahmed N2.8 million on October 13, 2022. Ahmed had earlier paid Ozaze this sum to purchase a Toyota Corolla car.
Two months after Ozaze failed to refund, Owolabi ordered 16 banks not to allow him to transact on any account.
Ahmed told the court via an affidavit on January 25, 2023, that Fidelity Bank had flouted the garnishee order.
He showed the court how Ozaze had been withdrawing funds from his account. He claimed that Ozaze had N3,165,759.05k in his account with Fidelity Bank as of January 12, 2023, when the garnishee order was served.
Three days after the order was served, Ozaze withdrew N725,547.80k from the account. The following day, he transferred another N251,305.90 out of the bank.
On January 17, Obianuju Nwosu, Fidelity Bank’s legal officer, confirmed that the bank received the garnishee order on December 22, 2022, and apologised to the court for the transactions on the account.
On January 18, the court ordered the managing director and the bank’s secretary to appear to explain why they should not be sentenced to prison.
Both were absent on Monday. Owolabi ordered their immediate remand and instructed the Lagos State Commissioner of Police to effect their arrest.
