Nigeria, Feb. 17 -- The First City Monument Bank (FCMB), has deposited N540 million into an interest-yielding bank account in favour of a cleric, Emmanuel Omale, who it defamed.

On 1 February, the Court of Appeal in Abuja refused to stay the execution of an earlier judgement awarding N540 million to Mr Omale, who was falsely accused of laundering money for Ibrahim Magu, as then acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Yusuf Halilu, a judge of the FCT High Court at Maitama, Abuja, in October 2022, ordered FCMB to pay the compensation to Mr Omale of the Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministry and his wife, Deborah, over a false claim that they laundered N573 million for Mr Magu.

The false claim against Mr Oma...