The court held in its judgment that Polaris Bank made unlawful deductions from the government account with the bank and ordered a refund and payment of the damages.
By Jeffrey Agbo
An Ondo State High Court in Akure has given a garnishee order, directing the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to freeze the account of Polaris Bank over alleged debt amounting to N2 billion.
The bank, which was in October 2022 acquired by Strategic Capital Investment Limited (SCIL), is said to owe Ondo State Government the sum of N2,162,561,509.84.
The court gave the order following an application moved by the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Ondo State, Charles Titiloye.
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The commissioner applied for the garnishee order in suit No AK/75/2017, attaching all the sums of indebtedness of Polaris Bank to the Ondo State Government.
Delivering the judgment, Justice A. Adebususi said the bank was liable for mismanaging the account of the Ondo State Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
The court held in its judgment that Polaris Bank made unlawful deductions from the government account with the bank and ordered a refund and payment of the damages.
It was gathered that a court had earlier granted a stay of execution of its judgment pending an appeal on the condition that the bank made payment of the judgement debt to an account held by the court’s registrar.