19th August, 2023
The Department of State Services has emerged victorious against the suit filed by a staff of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sa’adatu Yaro.
Yaro, in a motion on notice marked FCT/HC/CV/6918/23 filed by her lawyer J.B Daudu SAN, had asked a Federal Capital Territory High Court to declare her arrest on July 12, 2023, the detention of her husband and seizure of her six exotic cars as an infringement on her fundamental human right.
Yaro is the second defendant in the N6.9bn procurement fraud case by the Federal Government against the suspended CBN governor, Godwin Emefile.
Her suit sought an order releasing her six exotic cars seized by the secret police on July 12 as well as bail from continued detention.
She argued that the DSS, not being an anti-graft agency, lacked jurisdiction or statutory powers to inquire into her business dealings.
The court, however, dismissed her case on Friday.
Meanwhile, Yaro also have a pending money laundering case in court.
On 22 May, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), arraigned her before a judge, Obiora Egwuatu, of the Federal High Court in Abuja for alleged N140 billion money laundering charges.
She was arraigned alongside her company, Tsami Babi Resources Limited, for failing in her duty as director to disclose the financial transactions of the firm to the Federal Ministry of Commerce.
Some of the alleged infractions were the financial transactions in Tsami Babi Resources Limited’s account with a new generation bank to the tune of over N100 billion which were not disclosed to the Ministry of Commerce.
“Saadatu Ramallan Yaro, being a Director Of Tsami Babi Resources Limited, a Designated Non-Financial Institution, between 5th July, 2021 and 20th day of April, 2022, in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, failed to submit to the Ministry of Commerce, a declaration of activities of the said company within which period the total sum of N20,967,535,184.00(Twenty Billion, Nine Hundred and Sixty-seven Million, Five Hundred and Thirty Five Thousand, One Hundred and Eighty-Four Naira was deposited into the Company’s account No.1216254641 domiciled in Zenith Bank Plc,” one of the charges read.
The EFCC said the alleged offence violates “sections 5(1) (a), 16(1) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011 (as amended) and punishable under section 16 (2)(b) of the same Act”.