An Enugu-based microfinance bank, Ohha Microfinance Bank Limited, has accused a magistrate and a lawyer of attempting to intimidate and silence it through police investigation after the bank petitioned the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Enugu State Judicial Service Commission over the alleged fraudulent withdrawal of ₦3.5million from its corporate account through a controversial garnishee process.
The bank alleged that after petitions were submitted against Chief Magistrate C.K.C. Idu and lawyer Benedict Ikechukwu Anekwe over the disputed withdrawal, the duo resorted to filing a complaint with the Enugu State Police Command accusing the bank’s Managing Director and its counsel of “defamation of character and conduct likely to cause breach of peace.”
In a fresh petition dated May 21, 2026 and addressed to the Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman of the National Judicial Council, the Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network (CRRAN), acting through its Secretary, Dr. Wasiu Adeyemi Hammed, questioned whether complaints submitted to the NJC and Judicial Service Commission could legitimately become the subject of criminal police investigation.
Attached to the petition, copied to Attorney General of Federation, Chairman Enugu State Judicial Services Commission, Inspector General of Police among others, was a police invitation letter issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Enugu State Command, inviting the Managing Director of Ohha Microfinance Bank, Mr. Philip Onwukwe, and the bank’s lawyer, Olu Omotayo Esq., for questioning over allegations of defamation and conduct likely to breach public peace.
The invitation letter dated May 18, 2026 and signed by DCP Isiani requested the duo to appear before the SCID on May 20, 2026.
According to CRRAN, the move by the magistrate and the lawyer was aimed at forcing the petitioners to withdraw the pending complaints before the NJC and the Enugu State Judicial Service Commission.
“We submit that it will be a grave danger to the justice system in this country if citizens cannot approach the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the State Judicial Service Commission to make complaints,” the petition stated.
“We further submit that the police cannot make a pending complaint/petition to the Chief Justice of Nigeria and Enugu State Judicial Service Commission a subject of police investigation for defamation of character which is even a civil matter.”
The rights group argued that the police lacked powers to review or criminalise petitions submitted to judicial disciplinary bodies.
“The ploy of resorting to police by Anekwe Esq. and the Magistrate is to force the petitioner to withdraw the pending petitions before the Enugu State Judicial Service Commission and also the petition made to the Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman National Judicial Council,” the petition added.
According to the petition, a lawyer representing the bank, Wilfred Eziechina Esq., visited the SCID headquarters on Thursday on behalf of the bank but was allegedly informed that the police insisted that the Managing Director and the bank’s counsel must personally appear on May 25, 2026.
The controversy stems from earlier allegations made by Ohha Microfinance Bank accusing lawyer Benedict Ikechukwu Anekwe and Chief Magistrate C.K.C. Idu of conspiring to fraudulently withdraw ₦3.5million from the bank’s corporate account through what the bank described as a manipulated garnishee proceeding.
The bank had on March 6, 2026 submitted a petition to the Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman of the National Judicial Council demanding disciplinary action against both the lawyer and the magistrate.
According to the petition signed by the bank’s Managing Director, Philip Onwukwe, the controversy originated from a judgment delivered on July 11, 2025 by Chief Magistrate O.P. Okoro in Suit No. CME/1087/2023 involving Okoye Sunday and Ifesinachi Nnam.
The court had reportedly awarded ₦2.5million in favour of Okoye Sunday.
To enforce the judgment, Anekwe allegedly initiated garnishee proceedings against several banks, including Ohha Microfinance Bank, seeking to attach funds belonging to the judgment debtor, Ifesinachi Nnam.
On July 29, 2025, the court reportedly issued an Order Nisi directing banks to attach any money belonging to the debtor.
The bank maintained that the order applied strictly to the account of the judgment debtor and not to the corporate account of Ohha Microfinance Bank itself.
“It is crystal clear from the wordings of the Order that the Order Absolute made by His Worship Okoro was made against the account of Ifesinachi Nnam but not against the corporate account of Ohha Microfinance Bank Limited,” the bank had stated.
According to the petition, rather than verify whether the judgment debtor maintained an account with the microfinance bank, Anekwe allegedly filed another garnishee action directly against the bank before Chief Magistrate C.K.C. Idu in Suit No. CME/1554M/2025.
The bank alleged that despite the pendency of an appeal and a stay of execution in the earlier matter, Magistrate Idu on October 10, 2025 granted another Order Nisi attaching ₦3.5million from the bank’s corporate account with Ecobank Plc.
Ohha Microfinance Bank insisted that neither the judgment creditor nor the judgment debtor maintained any account relationship with the bank.
The bank further alleged that after it challenged the order through a motion seeking to set aside the garnishee proceedings, Magistrate Idu refused to vacate the order and instead made it absolute on February 27, 2026.
According to the bank, the magistrate allegedly handed the signed order directly to Anekwe, who immediately proceeded to Ecobank Plc, served the order and instructed that the ₦3.5million be transferred into his personal account instead of a client account.
“That same day the learned Chief Magistrate signed the Order Absolute and handed it over to Benedict Anekwe Esq., who rushed to Ecobank Plc and served the order,” the earlier petition stated.
The bank also alleged that Anekwe issued a written instruction directing Ecobank to transfer the money into his personal First Bank account.
Describing the development as “daylight stealing,” the bank accused the magistrate and the lawyer of acting in concert to perpetrate fraud.
“Our findings reveal that the learned magistrate C.K.C. Idu before his appointment worked together at CIDJAP Legal Department with Benedict Anekwe Esq., hence the reason he connived with him to perpetrate this fraud,” the bank alleged.
The bank subsequently demanded that the National Judicial Council investigate the matter, sanction both men and refer the lawyer to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee.
It also demanded the immediate refund of the ₦3.5million allegedly withdrawn from its corporate account.
