The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the temporary freezing of Mars Aviation Ltd’s account domiciled in Fidelity Bank Plc over alleged links to a fraud involving the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
The order was issued by Justice Musa Liman following an ex-parte motion filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) through its counsel, Geraldine Ofulue.
Ofulue informed the court that the account was under investigation for alleged criminal misappropriation and money laundering. She urged the court to freeze the account pending the conclusion of the investigation.
After hearing the motion, Justice Liman described the application as meritorious and granted the request.
According to the correspondent, though the order was made on 22 September, its certified true copy was sighted on Monday. The EFCC’s motion, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1299/2025, was filed on 1 July.
The anti-graft agency sought authorisation for its Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, or any authorised officer to instruct the managing director of Fidelity Bank to freeze the specified account—number 5250350283 (C03651082), belonging to Mars Aviation Ltd.
In an affidavit supporting the motion, EFCC investigator Abdulganiyu Olayide stated that the agency received intelligence alleging that NNPCL made payments to Mars Aviation Ltd for fraudulent contracts awarded in breach of the Procurement Act.
He said investigations revealed that large sums had indeed been paid to the company’s account in multiple instalments.
“This interim application is necessary to preserve the funds and prevent any transaction on the account pending the conclusion of investigation,” Olayide said, adding that the move was in the interest of justice.
(NAN)