THE DECISION IN GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC V. MR. AKINSIKU ADEDAMOLA: A PRECARIOUS PRECEDENT FOR EXTRA-JUDICIAL POWERS OF EFCC TO PLACE RESTRICTIONS/FREEZING ORDER ON A BANK CUSTOMER’S ACCOUNT

Abstract

The notable crimes which threaten global peace and security in recent times include terrorist financing, money laundering, bribery and other species of financial crimes. In Nigeria, the agency primarily responsible for tackling and curbing the menace of financial crimes is the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (hereinafter referred to as ‘Commission’) and since financial crimes are mostly perpetuated through the use of Bank accounts, the Commission makes use of some extra-judicial tools in its modus operandi which involves giving directives to banks to place restrictions on bank customers’ account pending when the Commission would obtain a court order. However, the recent decision of the Court of Appeal in Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) Plc. v. Adedamola has dealt a big blow to the use of extra-judicial tools in curbing economic and financial crimes. Consequently, this paper aims to critically review the extra-judicial powers of the Commission to place restrictions on bank customers account vis-à-vis the decision of the court.