Court Remands EcoBank Legal Head Abdulwahab Over Alleged Defamation Of Justice Agbaza & False Affidavit Blocking N228.4M ECOWAS Judgment

An Abuja-based lawyer, Ridwan Abdulwahab, was on Thursday remanded in Kuje prison following his arraignment on charges of perjury and defamation of character.

Magistrate Musa Sadiq of the Chief Magistrate Court, Wuse Zone Six, Abuja, issued the order after rejecting an oral bail application filed by Abdulwahab’s lawyer, Kalat Jatu.

Abdulwahab, who serves as Head of the Legal Department at EcoBank for the Northern Region, was arraigned on a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the police in the name of the Inspector General of Police (IGP). He was accused of giving false information on oath and defaming Justice Charles Agbaza of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.

According to the IGP, Abdulwahab allegedly deposed to an affidavit containing false information in a bid to prevent EcoBank from releasing a N228.4 million judgment debt awarded against the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to the judgment creditor, Vision Kam Jay.

In the affidavit, Abdulwahab reportedly claimed that the writ of execution used to implement a garnishee absolute order against EcoBank was not signed by Justice Agbaza. The debt arose from a judgment secured by Vision Kam Jay against ECOWAS over a contractual dispute.

The FIR stated that EcoBank had complied with the garnishee order by paying the judgment debt into the firm’s account in 2020. However, the bank allegedly placed a “Post No Debt” (PND) on the account, preventing the fund from being accessed by the judgment creditor. In response, Vision Kam Jay filed a complaint against Abdulwahab for giving false evidence, which was referred to the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Zone 7, for investigation.

The AIG’s investigation reportedly confirmed that the writ of execution for the garnishee absolute order was duly signed by Justice Agbaza prior to enforcement. The police concluded that Abdulwahab made the false deposition in sympathy with ECOWAS to block the judgment creditor from accessing the funds.

Following the findings, Abdulwahab was charged with perjury under Sections 158 and 392 of the Penal Code, Laws of Northern Nigeria. He pleaded not guilty when the charge was read in court.

Magistrate Sadiq adjourned the case to October 7, ordering Abdulwahab to remain in custody and directing the defense to file a formal bail application. The prosecuting lawyer, Bale Nimnan, objected to the oral bail request.