A public affairs company , Gatefield Nigeria Ltd. , has sued Access Bank Plc N 100m ( $262, 000) for illegally blocking an account used to finance the recent #EndSARS campaign against police brutality ,
Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

According to the international news platform , the company filed a case against Access Bank in a Federal High Court in Abuja on October 28, 2020 and accused the bank of “ unilaterally restricting” its account which was used to raise funds to support independent Nigerian journalists that covered nationwide protests last month.

“ As more people contributed to our efforts , we noticed that we could no longer conduct transactions on the dedicated account we used for this particular activity, ” the lead strategist for Abuja -based Gatefield, Adewunmi Emoruwa , reportedly said .

The lawsuit will test whether blocking Gatefield’ s account without a court order was unlawful . There were other allegations by individuals and organizations on social media that their accounts were restricted during the protests for apparently similar reasons.

“ A successful challenge at the court could make the difference for others who were likewise targeted , ” Emoruwa added .

Gatefield was told by Access Bank that it was directed by the Central Bank of Nigeria to put restrictions on the account , implemented on October 15, Emoruwa said .
Bloomberg said a spokesman for Access Bank said the bank doesn ’ t comment on its customers to third parties
while a spokesman for the CBN didn ’ t respond to emails and calls seeking comment .