An Abuja Federal High Court has ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and commercial banks to freeze all accounts without Bank Verification Number (BVN).
Justice Nnamdi Dimgba made the orders on October 17, 2017, upon an ex parte motion filed on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Attorney General of the Federation.
In the order, the banks are to disclose the details of such accounts, their owners and the their proceeds in an affidavit of compliance deposed to by their Chief Compliance Officers.
Similarly, the CBN mandated the banks to publish the accounts without BVN in national dailies as notice to those who might have any interest in any of the accounts.
However, the Central Bank spokesman, Isaac Okorafor, said he was not aware of the case and thus will not speak on the matter.
The court also made an interim order appointing a Bank Examiner from the CBN to examine the books of “any bank that fails to comply with the order of the honourable court to file affidavit of disclosure.”
