By TAIYE AGBAJE

The Federal High Court in Abuja has set aside the order freezing the bank accounts of four defendants allegedly linked to a 2023 N21 billion system glitch which resulted in filing the case by the police.

The defendants are Adebusoye Adewumi, Reuben Aikhorin, Ukonu Tamara and Tamara A. Autos.

Justice Emeka Nwite, in his ruling, held that the order given in favour of the police was gotten by suppression of material facts.

Justice Nwite agreed with the arguments of the legal team of the defendants, led by Abbas Ochogwu of Lexlaw Solicitors & Attorneys, that facts about the case were concealed by the applicant who filed the motion ex-parte.

NAN reports that the matter was connected to the investigation and litigation involving banks and financial institutions, which aimed to reverse billions of Naira allegedly withdrawn fraudulently from a Flutterwave account at Wema Bank.

The withdrawals were said to have occurred due to an alleged system glitch between Oct. 12 and Oct. 13, 2023.

However, the four affected defendants, through their lawyers, filed a motion on notice, urging the court to vacate the ex-parte order on the grounds of non-disclosure of facts by the police as required by law.

They stressed that a similar court of coordinate jurisdiction had discharged the restrictions imposed on them.

Ruling, Justice Nwite held that orders made by a court are not permitted to stand where it is demonstrated that judicial discretion was exercised on a materially incomplete factual foundation.

The judge said that the circumstances disclosed in the instant case, as highlighted by the defendants, justified the exercise of the court’s jurisdiction in reversing its previous orders.

“The court therefore finds that the failure to disclose the order of April 2, 2026, which had discharged and lifted the restrictions affecting the applicants’ accounts, constituted a material non-disclosure in the circumstances of the ex-parte application.

“The subsequent procurement of an order imposing substantially similar restrictions without first disclosing and addressing the earlier order cannot be permitted to stand,” he said.

The judge, accordingly, resolved the issue for determination in favour of the 1st to 4th defendants/applicants.

The judge ruled that “the ex-parte order made by the court on 2nd June, 2026, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1004/2026, together with all consequential directives issued pursuant thereto, is hereby set aside and vacated.”

Justice Nwite, therefore, ordered that all freezing orders, restrictions, liens, Post-No-Debit instructions or other encumbrances imposed upon the accounts or properties of the 1st to 4th defendants/applicants pursuant to the said order of 2nd June, 2026 be discharged and set aside. (NAN)