*Officials of the FCT High Court Enforcement Unit  stormed the First Bank Abuja Headquarters with towing vans, cranes, and carts away some valuables over the bank’s non-compliance with a garnishee order

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

For failure to comply with a garnishee order, the FCT High Court Enforcement Unit has ordered closure of the ‘main branch’ of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, located at the Coomasie House, Central Business District (CBD), Abuja.

ConsumerConnect reports a garnishee order is one of the options open to a judgment creditor to enforce a judgment that has been made in his/her favour.

Photo collage of some scenes when officials of FCT High Court Enforcement Unit stormed the First Bank Main Branch in Abuja

A garnishee order has been described as “a common way of enforcing a judgment debt and is solely used to enforce monetary judgments against a debtor to recover money, according to experts.”

Officials of the FCT High Court Enforcement Unit reportedly stormed the bank (Coomasie) with towing vans and cranes and carted away some of its valuables.

It was gathered some of the items carted away during the raid included stand-by generators, Hilux vans and air-conditioners, among other valuables.

An official of the court, who spoke under anonymity, said, “it is a long story, but it is all about a garnishee order against the bank which it didn’t comply with,’’ agency report stated.

Some staff of the bank while reacting to the development, described it as ’embarrassing’.

They said the matter could have been handled differently.

Efforts at getting reaction of the First Bank Headquarters, in Lagos, to the development, were to no avail as calls and text messages put across to the cell phone of an official in the Communications Unit of the bank were not responded to, NAN said.

However, most of the bank’s customers were seen in groups hanging outside the bank’s premises, in Abuja, during the incident, according to report.