Presidential panel threatens to sue Unity Bank over unrefunded N7bn

The special presidential investigation panel for the recovery of public property says it will sue Unity Bank for alleged economic sabotage if it refuses to return N7 billion.

In a statement released on Monday, Lucie-Ann Laha, the committee’s head of media and communications, said the sum represents excess and arbitrary charges on the accounts of some government agencies before the implementation of the treasury single account (TSA).

She said that the agencies included the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the Kaduna refinery and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

Laha sad the figure represents $15,561,769 and N1,488,455,810.

“Unity Bank, which had agreed to this amount in February, has neither proffered a payment plan nor demonstrated good faith by actually initiating payments,” she said.

“Instead, the bank has severed all communications with the Panel in this regard.”
According to Laha, the committee has commissioned a team of experts to audit the accounts of government agencies for the period prior to TSA implementation.

She said indicted banks, with the exception of Unity Bank, have agreed to a refund plan.

“The Panel is unrelenting in its resolve towards ensuring that economic saboteurs are brought to book and looted public property, including money, duly returned to government.”