A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a fresh lawsuit seeking to challenge the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission’s authority to place Post No Debit (PND) restrictions on bank accounts, describing the suit as a deliberate attempt to create judicial anarchy and a classical abuse of court process.

In the judgment delivered by Honourable Justice Emeka Nwite, the court struck out the suit filed by James Erebuoye, Emon Aje Okune, and Dorason Global Construction Ltd. The plaintiffs had dragged ICPC, Polaris Bank Ltd., and Sterling Bank Plc. to court in FHC/ABJ/CS/387/2022, seeking to challenge the Commission’s PND directives.

Justice Nwite ruled that the case was improperly before the court, noting that the plaintiffs had already filed two earlier suits (CV/2278/2020 and CV/2279/2020) before the FCT High Court challenging the same directives.

Despite having an active appeal before the Court of Appeal, the plaintiffs filed a fresh suit before the Federal High Court seeking similar reliefs, including N95,287,200.00 as damages.

Justice Nwite held that their conduct amounted to an attempt to relitigate an already decided matter and an improper move to invite the Federal High Court to sit on appeal over a judgment delivered by a court of coordinate jurisdiction. The judge stressed that one court of equal standing cannot overturn the decision of another.

ICPC, Polaris Bank, and Sterling Bank had opposed the suit through a Preliminary Objection, arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction. The court agreed.

Consequently, the suit was dismissed in its entirety, and costs of N200,000 each were awarded in favour of ICPC, Polaris Bank, and Sterling Bank, totaling N600,000 against the plaintiffs.

The judgment further strengthens ICPC’s statutory powers to freeze accounts during investigations and sends a clear message against forum shopping and repeated suits intended to obtain conflicting outcomes.

ORIGINAL STATEMENT 

INDEPENDENT CORRUPT PRACTICES AND OTHER RELATED OFFENCES COMMISSION (ICPC)
PRESS RELEASE
Thursday 20th November 2025

Court Dismisses Fresh Suit Against ICPC, Upholds Commission’s Power to Freeze Accounts, Awards N600,000 Costs

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has dismissed a fresh suit challenging the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission’s (ICPC) authority to place Post-No-Debit (PND) restrictions on bank accounts, describing the action as “a clear attempt to create judicial anarchy” and “a classical act of abuse of court process.”

In a judgment delivered recently, Honourable Justice Emeka Nwite struck out the suit filed by James Erebuoye, Emon Aje Okune, and Dorason Global Construction Ltd. against ICPC, Polaris Bank Ltd., and Sterling Bank Plc.

The court held that the case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/387/2022, was improperly before it and constituted an abuse of judicial process.

The court found that the plaintiffs had previously instituted two similar suits—CV/2278/2020 and CV/2279/2020—before the FCT High Court, challenging the same PND directives issued by ICPC.

On February 16, 2021, Hon. Justice Babangida Hassan dismissed both suits and affirmed that ICPC is empowered under Section 45(1) of the ICPC Act to impose a PND without first obtaining a court order.

Despite appealing that ruling at the Court of Appeal, the plaintiffs instituted another suit before the Federal High Court, seeking identical reliefs, including N95,287,200.00 in damages.

Justice Nwite held that the plaintiffs’ conduct amounted to an attempt to re-litigate already settled matters and to improperly invite the Federal High Court to sit on appeal over a judgment of a court of coordinate jurisdiction.

ICPC, supported by Polaris Bank and Sterling Bank, had argued through a Preliminary Objection that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter.

The court agreed, stressing that a court of equal standing cannot review or overturn the decision of another court of similar jurisdiction.

The judge further noted that since the plaintiffs’ appeals against the 2021 judgment remain pending before the Court of Appeal, the proper legal course was to await the appellate court’s decision rather than initiate fresh proceedings in another court.

Consequently, Justice Nwite dismissed the suit in its entirety and awarded costs of N200,000 each in favour of ICPC, Polaris Bank, and Sterling Bank, totaling N600,000 against the plaintiffs.

The judgment reinforces ICPC’s statutory authority to issue Post-No-Debit directives in the course of investigations and strengthens judicial deterrence against forum shopping and repetitive suits filed in search of conflicting outcomes.