A High Court sitting in Owerri, Imo state capital, Friday, restrained five commercial banks from tampering with salaries of Imo workers, their gratuities and pensions of the senior citizens, pending the determination of a suit before it.
The banks affected by this order are Zenith Bank, Access Bank, Union Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and First Bank.
The Presiding Judge, Justice M.E.Nwagboso, said the order followed an exparte motion filed by the Attorney General of Imo state against the affected institutions and individuals.
He ruled that the defendants had been restrained from “paying out or transferring out any funds from the account of Imo state government or federal government account allocation committee or any other funds housing the salaries of workers, pensions and gratuities without the express mandate of the plaintiff who is the Attorney General of the state.”
Justice Nwagboso later adjourned the matter to June 12, 2022.
It is worthy to note that for two days now, Zenith Bank branches in Owerri have been sealed following their inability to carry out a judgement debt case at the Industrial Court Owerri, which went in favour of the immediate past deputy governor of the state, Prince Eze Madumere, whose impeachment during the tenure of former governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, was later reversed.
During that trying period, his salaries and those of his aides were withheld.
But in reaction, those on the side of Imo government have alleged that this was another method Okorocha wanted to use to siphon Imo state government funds.
Madumere is demanding a whopping sum of N1.9 billion from the state government being his entitlements that were withheld.