Presidential panel asks banks to block Nwaoboshi’s account

*Seals properties in Delta, Abuja and Lagos

Tunde Opalana, Abuja

The Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property has sealed up suspicious assets and properties belonging to Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, located in Warri and Asaba in Delta state and Lagos state respectively.

The presidential panel carried out the action on the premise of last week’s ruling of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja which ordered an interim forfeiture of properties belonging to Nwaoboshi, who represents Delta North Senatorial District.

Ruling in suit no FHC/ABJ/CS/1127/18 filed by the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property on behalf of the federal government, Justice Taiwo Taiwo, also placed a post-no-debit order on 22 bank accounts linked to Sen. Nwaoboshi.

The embattled senator was recently referred to the office of the Department of Public Prosecutions in the Federal Ministry of Justice by the panel led by Chief Okoi Obono-Obla for allegedly making false assets declaration in his Form CCB1 submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau.

According to the ruling, 14 properties and 22 bank accounts linked to the senator are to be temporarily forfeited to the federal government.

Aside from sealing up the properties, the panel also wrote to several banks including Zenith International Bank Plc, United Bank of Africa, Sterling Bank Plc and Access Bank Plc to block Sen. Nwaoboshi from operating multiple accounts maintained by him in these banks pursuant to the order of the interim forfeiture given by the court.

Some of the properties sealed by the presidential panel include Summing Electrical Company located along Asaba Airport Road, PON filling station along Asaba Airport Road, and a multi-billion naira estate under construction at Maryam Babangida Road, Asaba.

Others are Cartage Cinema located at Okpana Road beside Rain Oil Petrol Station, Asaba, Newbridge Filling Station along Airport Road, Warri and a house at No 8 Monu Olanrewaju Crescent, GRA, Asaba.

Sen. Nwaoboshi’s properties sealed in Lagos are Guinea House at No 27, Marina Road, Apapa and a multi-billion naira building located at 41, Burma road, Apapa, Lagos while in Abuja, House No 25 6932 road, Adban Estate, Gwarimpa and Plot 3011B Kuranakh Close, Maitama were sealed.

Also, an unnamed number of plots of land have also been sealed by the panel.