Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
The Zone 9 Police Command, has said that operatives from the command were not involved in the alleged sealing off of Zenith bank branches in Imo following a garnishee order to recover N1. 9 billion owed former Imo State Deputy Governor, Prince Eze Madumere.
Madumere was Deputy Governor to Senator Rochas Okorocha and was impeached after dumping the All Progressives Congress, APC, to contest for governorship under the platform of another party in 2015.
National Industrial Court of Nigeria sitting in Owerri, had in the early hours of Thursday, sealed off branches of Zenith bank within the state capital over the alleged debt.
The garnishee order was issued by Hon Justice I.S Galadima and posted on one of the bank’s branches along Wethedral road in Owerri.
Justice Galadima made the order in the SUIT NO: NICN/OW/1.9M/2021, between Prince Eze Madumere and Governor of Imo State, Attorney General of Imo State, Imo State Government and the new generation bank .
The order read: “It is hereby ordered as follows; the Order Nisi made on 15 October 2021 is hereby made an Absolute against the Garnishee this 27/5/2022.
“The Garnishee, (a new generation bank) is ordered to transfer the sum of 1,970,666,584.68k (One Billion, nine Hundred Seventy Million, Six Hundred & Sixty-Six Thousand, Five Hundred and, Sixty-Eight Kobo) only into the Judgment Creditor’s Counsel account (GTB Bank Plc, Account no. 0223523624, A/C name: M/s Njemanze & Njemanze) forthwith within 24 hours of this order absolute.
“The Garnishee shall upon compliance with this Order be discharged from these garnishee proceedings.”
But the Zone 9 Command in a press statement by the zonal Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, George Okafor, a Superintendent of Police, dismissed as misleading and unfounded, reports linking Zone 9 with the alleged operation.
The statement urged members of the public to ignore the reports, saying that the police are professionally trained enough to follow due process.
It read in part: “The attention of the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 9 Headquarters Umuahia, has been drawn to the various online and Newspaper publications alleging that Police from Zone 9 Headquarters Umuahia, sealed Zenith Bank Branches in Imo State, on Thursday 2nd June, 2022, following absolute garnishee order against the Bank by National industrial Court.
“It is pertinent to categorically state that the leadership of Zone 9 Police Headquarters, Umuahia was not at any time approached by any official of the court to levy execution of any Order; hence, the publication that Police from Zone 9 Umuahia was used in the alleged exercise is unfounded, laughable and malicious machinations of mischief-makers who are bent on tarnishing the image of the Police, and indeed Zone 9 Headquarters Umuahia.
“The publishers who failed to verify the information before such publication have failed members of the public in the very essential service of dissemination of credible information.
“The AIG Zone 9 Headquarters Umuahia, AIG Isaac O. Akinmoyede, hereby disassociates Zone 9 Police Headquarters, from the alleged sealing off of Zenith Bank Branches in Imo State.
“For benefit of hindsight (sic), the Nigeria Police is a professional organization with clear-cut Standard Operational Procedures in the discharge of its statutory duties.”
Imo State Government through the State Commissioner for Information and strategy, Declan Emelumba, said that it had appealed against the court order.
“We have appealed against the judgment. There is no how he could be owed N1.9 billion putting all his allowances together.
“Secondly, the Government suspects that there is a conspiracy because the judge who gave the judgment even barred the Government from appealing. We have never seen this kind of thing before. However, we have appealed the judgment.”
