Reprieve came the way of former First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan on Thursday as a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos southwest Nigeria unfreeze her account containing $5,842,316.66 domicile with Skye bank Plc.

The order of the court was sequel to an application filed and argued before the court by her lawyer, Mr. Adedayo Adedipe SAN, leading seven other lawyers.

The lawyers urged the court to unfreeze the account on the ground that Patience Jonathan was not a party in the suit leading to the order made by the court freezing her account.

Mr Adedipe while citing judicial authorities contended that the suit was an abuse of court process as the court has no jurisdiction to make an order against a party that is not a party in a suit filed before the court.

The EFCC who initiated the suit leading to the order made by the court did not file any response to the application filed to discharge the order.

In her ruling, the presiding judge, Mojisola Olatoregun, upheld the submission of Mr. Adedipe and discharged the order freezing the account.

The EFCC had in 2016 requested the court to freeze the account of the former First Lady containing $5,842,316.66 domiciled with Skye Bank, on the suspicion that the money is proceeds of crime.

Also affected by the order are five companies and one Esther Oba. The five companies had a total sum of N7,418,829,290.94 (Seven billion four hundred and eighteen million eight hundred and twenty nine thousand two hundred and ninety Naira ninety four kobo) in different accounts in the bank while Esther Oba had $429,381.87.