Section 1: Powers of the Court

(1) The Federal High Court (in this Act referred to as "the Court") shall have power to-
(a) recover, in accordance with the provisions of this Act, the debts owed to a failed bank, arising in the ordinary course of business and which remain outstanding as at the date the bank is closed or declared a failed bank by the Central Bank of Nigeria;
(b) try the offences specified in Part III of this Act;
(c) try the offences specified in the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act and the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation Act; and
[Cap. B3. Cap. N102.]
(d) try other offences relating to the business or operation of a bank under any enactment.
(2) The Court shall exercise exclusive jurisdiction over all ancillary matters, including remand, bail and any other preliminary issues connected with an offence or hearing over which the Court has jurisdiction.
(3) The Court shall, in the exercise of its powers under this Act-
(a) conduct its proceedings in such manner as to avoid undue delay;
(b) lift the corporate veil of a body corporate, where it is necessary for the purpose of revealing its members who may be-
(i) guilty of an offence under this Act; or
(ii) liable, jointly or severally, for the debts owed by the corporate body to a failed bank.
(c) subject to this Act, adopt its own procedure, where expedient, to ensure speedy determination of cases before it.
(4) The Court shall have the power to admit and act on any evidence which it considers relevant in any civil or criminal proceedings notwithstanding that the evidence is inadmissible under any other law or enactment.
[1995 No. 18. 1999 No. 62.]