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Judiciary
Court Orders ICPC to Unfreeze Pinnacle Bank
Account
Federal High Court Judge Nnamdi Dimgba has ordered Independent
Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to
unfreeze the account of Pinnacle Communications Limited and
counselled anti-corruption agencies of government against taking
drastic action that could prevent private enterprises from
flourishing prior to concluding investigations to justify such
actions.
Delivering his ruling in the case instituted against ICPC for
instructing Zenith Bank to freeze its account Friday, the Justice
Dimgba maintained that the anti-corruption war was as beneficial to
the society as flourishing private enterprises pointing out that
scuttling the operations of major private organizations like
Pinnacle Communications Limited also sends negative signals to the
international community about Nigeria’s business environment.
The judge described ICPC’s action against Pinnacle
Communications Limited as “an overkill just like using a
sledgehammer to kill a fly” considering that even after six months
since the case was instituted and despite lèeway provided by many
adjournments by the court, ICPC could not file any charges against
the company, emphasizing that it should not have frozen the account
without establishing a prima facie against it.
The judge remarked that anti-corruption agencies should not base
their actions on rumours or “beer parlour stories” but on thorough
investigations that could sustain judicial scrutiny.
By PRNigeria