122MILLION DOLLAR MONEY LAUNDERING CHARGE: STERLING BANK WANTS COURT TO STOP POLICE, HOUSE OF REPS INVESTIGATION

By Innocent Anaba

LAGOS—A Federal High Court in Lagos has adjourned till July 18, 2025, to hear the suit by Sterling Bank Limited and its affiliates challenging the authority of the House of Representatives to investigate the management of funds in the accounts of two of its customers, Dr. Innocent Usoro and Miden Systems Limited.

Trial judge in the matter is Justice Daniel Osiagor.

The plaintiffs in the suit, Sterling Bank, Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc, and senior executives, Yemi Odubiyi, Abubakar Suleiman, Lekan Olakunle and Dele Faseemo, are seeking a perpetual injunction restraining the House and its Public Petitions Committee Chairman, Michael Etaba, from acting on a police report that alleged financial misconduct involving the customers’ accounts.

Also joined in the suit are Dr. Innocent Usoro, Miden Systems Limited, and the Inspector General of Police.

Filed by rights activist and lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, the plaintiffs argued that the National Assembly lacks the constitutional power to conduct investigations into the bank’s internal dealings with its customers or revisit a consent judgment previously delivered by the Federal High Court in 2021.

In response, the defendants, through their counsel, Rowland Uzoechi, claimed that the suit is a calculated attempt to obstruct justice and avoid scrutiny.

They argued that the questions raised by the plaintiffs were academic and hypothetical, insisting that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter.

The defendants further alleged that the plaintiffs used fraudulent means, including the use of forged documents and questionable ex-parte orders, to secure a prior court judgment favourable to them.

In a 40-paragraph counter-affidavit, Dr. Usoro (3rd defendant) alleged that the bank falsified documents to suggest a $30 million loan transaction that never occurred.

He claimed he was in the United States on the day the alleged documents were executed and that signatures of non-existent or unauthorized personnel were used in the process.

According to him, the Inspector General of Police’s January 2025 investigation report revealed suspicious inflows totaling over $122 million into Miden Systems’ accounts, with significant sums unaccounted for and withdrawn under questionable narrations.

Usoro contends that the bank’s actions were a deliberate scheme to launder money and that forged documents, including board resolutions, personal guarantees, and lease agreements, were used to deceive the court and obtain a Mareva injunction.

The case, which touches on issues of constitutional law, banking oversight, and public accountability, is also scheduled for hearing on April 30, 2025.