Abuja Magistrates’ Court yesterday remanded the Head of Legal Department of the ECO Bank in the Northern Region, Ridwan Abdulwahab, at Kuje prison in Abuja following his arraignment on perjury and defamation of character.

Abdulwahab was arraigned by the police for giving false information on oath and defaming the character of Justice Charles Agbaza of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory The banker was accused by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun of deposing to an affidavit where he gave false information in the bid to block his bank from releasing N228.4 million judgment debt awarded against the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to the judgment creditor.

In his deposition, the accused alleged that the writ of execution used to effect implementation of Garnishee Absolute against Eco Bank, ordering the release of the money to the owner was an unsigned document by Justice Charles Agbaza.

The ECOWAS was ordered by the High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court in Abuja to pay the N228.4 million to a judgment creditor, Vision Kam Jay, an indigenous company for a job executed for the Regional body.

In the First Information Report, FIR, the ECO Bank in compliance with the court orders, effected the payment into the account of the judgment creditor in 2020 but the bank immediately placed a “Post No Debt” (PND) on the same account making it impossible for the owner of the fund to access it.