By TAIYE AGBAJE

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered a temporary freezing of Mars Aviation Ltd’s account domiciled in Fidelity Bank Plc over alleged link with Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL)’s fraud.

Justice Musa Liman gave the order following an ex-parte motion moved by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)’s lawyer, Geraldine Ofulue, to the effect.

Ofulue had told the court that the account was currently being investigated in a case of criminal misappropriation and money laundering.

She prayed the court to make the order freezing the account pending the conclusion of investigation.

After moving the motion, Justice Liman said that the application was meritorious and was accordingly granted.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that though the order was made on Sept. 22, its certified true copy was sighted on Monday.

The anti-graft agency had filed the ex-parte motion, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1299/2025.

It was dated and filed on July 1.

The agency had sought an order empowering its Executive Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, or any other authorised officer of the commission to instruct the managing director of the bank stated in the schedule to the application, to freeze the account contained in schedule.

According to the motion, the account number is 5250350283 (C03651082) with account name: Mars Aviation Limited.

In the affidavit in support of the motion ex-parte, Abdulganiyu Olayide, an EFCC investigator in the Special Duties Committee, averred that his team was assigned to handle the case.

Olayide said the anti-graft agency received an open source intelligence alleging that some monies had been paid by NNPCL to Mars Aviation Ltd for purported contracts that were phony and granted in default of the provisions of the Procurement Act.

He said that based on this, the commission launched an investigation and found that huge sums of money had indeed been paid to the account of Mars Aviation Ltd by NNPCL, in various instalments.

He said an order of the court instructing the MD of Fidelity Bank to freeze the account as contained in the schedule would be imperative to enable further investigation on the case and prevent any transaction on the account.

According to the investigator, this interim application is basically to preserve the funds and prevent any transaction on the accounts, pending conclusion of investigation.

He said it was in the interest of justice to grant the application.

“That I make this affidavit in good faith believing its contents to be true and correct and in accordance with the Oaths Act,” he concluded. (NAN)