By James Sowole
The Ondo State Governor, Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, Wednesday asked the suspected promoters of EndSARS protest, whose accounts had been frozen by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to challenge the apex bank’s action in the court.
Akeredolu, who is the Chairman of the South-west Governors’ Forum, spoke while featuring as a guest on a national television station.
The governor similarly advised those affected by the action of the federal government through the CBN, to challenge the matter in court if they feel their accounts were unlawfully frozen or same were unjustifiably breached.
He said, though, the CBN acted in line with the provisions of the law to freeze the accounts, the owners of the account should approach the court to challenge the decision.
According to him, those affected by the action of the apex bank have a right to expose the necessity or otherwise and even to repudiate the accusations slammed against them by the CBN as frivolous and unfair.
He said: “Speaking very honestly, I don’t see anything wrong in it. If for instance, my account was frozen, what would I do? All I would do is go back to court to explain. The EndSARS promoters should do that.
“Even politicians, their accounts are sometimes frozen. You have to go to court and explain. And at the end of the day, the court will say, ‘Leave the account. The account should be de-frozen’ and you take your money back.
“If your account is frozen, you justify why the money was there. You come to explain to what use you have put this money.
“If it is that ‘okay, we used this money to pay this caterer to give food to these boys when they were there. We spent money before the hoodlums took over,’ it will be explained, people will know and the accounts will be de-frozen.
“It is just that we (CBN) suspected this account then the owner of the account will explain; it is not a conclusion that those accounts were used for acts of treason.”
