The Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday barred five commercial banks from instigating Senator Buruji Kashamu’s arrest by security agencies over an alleged debt.
Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke made an order of perpetual injunction restraining the banks and their officers from instigating the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFC) to arrest, interrogate or detain Kashamu.
It is with regards to “an innocuous and unblemished civil contractual transaction” between Kashamu and the banks.
The banks are Ecobank Nigeria Plc, Union Bank Plc, Enterprise Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and First City Monument Bank Plc.
The judge declared that the EFCC and the police were not empowered to act as debt collectors.
They claimed the banks were being used by his political opponents to send the EFCC after him over the loans he obtained.
“The applicants’ relationships with the third to seventh respondents (banks) are purely banker/customer relationships with valuable security collaterising all loans taken from the banks and therefore devoid of criminality as to justify reference to law enforcement agents.
“The first and second respondents (EFCC and IGP) are agencies of the government charged with the responsibility of combating economic and financial crimes.
“In the course of their relationships with the third to seventh respondents (banks), the plaintiffs have not committed any economic, financial or general crime as to warrant being reported to and or interrogated and detained by the first and second respondents.
“I believe the indebtedness of a customer to his bank is not a crime under the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Kashamu said in a supporting affidavit.
He urged the court to declare that the respondents had violated his rights to liberty and to own property under sections 35 and 44 of the 1999 Constitution for harassing, intimidating, arresting and threatening him with detention.
However, Ecobank asked the court to dismiss or strike out Kashamu’s suit for being a gross abuse of the court processes.
Its case with Kashamu, the bank said, had to do with his indebtedness to the defunct Oceanic Bank, acquired by Ecobank and had no connection with his purported extradition process to the US for heroine importation charges.
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