A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), in Bwari, Abuja, on Thursday issued a bench warrant for the arrest of the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe, and two others.
Also named in the arrest warrant were senior official of the bank, Mrs. Neka Adogu, and Access Bank Plc.
Justice Othman Musa issued the arrest warrant after lawyer for the prosecution, Osuebeni Akposinimingha, complained of difficulty in getting Wigwe and others to attend court to answer charges pending against them.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had last week filed a four-count charge marked CR/32/2017 against Wigwe and others, following which the court fixed Thursday for their arraignment.
Wigwe, Mrs. Adogu and the bank are accused among others, of refusing to unfreeze some accounts belonging to two customers – Blaid Construction Limited and Blaid Properties Limited, even after a court order and a directive to that effect from the ICPC.
At Thursday’s proceedings, Akposinimingha said, although it was the prosecution’s responsibility to produce the defendants in court for arraignment, the prosecution was having constraints producing the defendants.
The first of the four counts against Wigwe reads: “That you, Herbert Wigwe (Mr) MD/CEO of Access Bank, sometimes in the month of November 2017 or thereabout within the jurisdiction of this honourable court willfully refused to honor a lawful invitation by the ICPC in respect of refusal to release the Post Debit order on all the accounts of Blaid Construction Limited and Blaid Properties Limited respectively, upon receipt of an order directing you and your bank (Access Bank plc) to do so, you thereby committed an offender contrary to and punishable under Section 28 (10) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.”
