The managing director of a new generation bank has been ordered by Justice E. A. Andow for failing to comply with an order to refund N14.2 million to a bank client.
The summons came after an endorsement of the Form 49, captioned “Notice to Show Cause Why Order of Committal Should Not Be Made,” dated October 20, 2021.
The committal order was obtained from a suit filed by Jacinta Uloma Ibe (now Jacinta Uloma Agha Orji) against Zenith bank plc (1st defendant), the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command (2nd defendant), and Nnaemeka Magnus (3rd defendant/applicant) in the case KDH/KAD/888/ 2021.
The ruling came after relatives of Florence Ngozi Aguwa, who died in January 2020, allegedly made unauthorized withdrawals from her account without the agreement of her husband, Magnus Nnaemeka Aguwa, the 3rd defendant/applicant.
The order further reads, “Take notice that the 3rd defendant/applicant will on the 9th December, 2021 in the afternoon apply to this court for an order for your committal to prison having disobeyed the order of this honourable court made on 5th day of October, 2021 requiring you to pay the sum of N14, 216,107.34k (Fourteen million, two hundred and sixteen thousand, and seven hundred naira, thirty four kobo) from account number 1003005241 belonging to Mrs Florence Ngozi Aguwa and domiciled with 1st defendant/respondent into account no. 0230780257 belonging to Mrs Flornce Ngozi Aguwa domiciled with Guaranty Trust Bank Nigeria Plc pending the determination of the motion on notice filed by the 3rd defendant/applicant before this honourable.”
Also ruling on the motion on notice brought against Jacinta Uloma Ibe (now Jacinta Uloma Agha Oji) by Aguwa’s counsel Oteiku Asekome, the judge directed the Commissioner of Police, Kaduna State to commence investigation into the circumstances behind the withdrawal of the sum from the deceased’s bank account.
The contempt proceedings were initiated by Mr Aguwa after police investigation found that the relatives of the deceased woman obtained the letter of administration from the Probate Registry of the Kaduna State High Court after she was blocked at the FCT High Court Probate Registry and the Manager’s Cheque issued to her withdrawn by the bank.
Police investigation revealed that the deceased sister concealed information about her being survived by a husband and two children aged seven and five years old.
