Despite court verdict, bank stops Patience Jonathan from withdrawing money over 'stay of execution order'

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has barred Patience Jonathan, the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, from withdrawing money from a $5.9m account with Skye Bank, which was ordered to be unfrozen by a court last week.

This is just as the EFCC has begun fresh move to ensure that a separate $15m, which was traced to Patience, is permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

It was learnt, on Monday, that Mrs. Jonathan was barred from operating the $5m account after a Federal High Court, sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, ordered that the restriction on the account be lifted.

A reliable source said that the EFCC was able to obtain a ‘stay of execution’, a court order obtained for the purpose of suspending the execution of a court judgment.

The source said, “Shortly after the judge ordered that the account be unfrozen, the EFCC quickly obtained a stay of execution in order to prevent her from having access to the money.

“The EFCC communicated with the relevant authorities at Skye Bank that it was important that she wasn’t allowed to withdraw the money or else, the whole purpose of the freezing would have been defeated.”