A Federal High Court Lagos Division, has declined to vacate an interim order, empowering the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to seize the properties of a businessman cum politician, Jimoh Ibrahim over alleged N69.4billion debt.
Based on the order of Justice R.M. Aikawa of the Federal High Court, Lagos, AMCON effectively took possession of twelve prime assets belonging to Barrister Ibrahim who is also the Chief promoter of Global Fleet Oil & Gas Limited and NICON Investment Limited, over the staggering indebtedness. The assets are located in Lagos and Abuja.
Ibrahim, who attended the court session on Tuesday, fully robed as a lawyer, was disappointed at the decision of the Court to turn down his prayer to vacate the interim order.
Ibrahim and his companies- NICON Investment Limited and Global Fleet Oil and Gas Limited, had asked the court to set aside the interim order for “non-disclosure and misrepresentation of material facts.”
Ibrahim and co. also asked the court to order AMCON to pay N50 billion indemnity for alleged failure to conduct due diligence before obtaining the said order and for misrepresentation and concealment of fact, which the court also brushed aside.
Justice Rilwan Aikawa, in the ruling, upheld the flawless arguments of AMCON’s lawyer, Mr Kemi Pinheiro (SAN) that AMCON made “full and substantial disclosure of all material facts” at the time of obtaining the orders on November 4, 2020.
The presiding Judge therefore ruled that the order subsists.
Following the November 4 order, AMCON had announced on November 18 through a statement signed by its head of Corporate Communications Department, Mr Jude Nwauzor that AMCON had effectively took possession of over 12 properties belonging to the businessman and his firms. The properties included the NICON Investment Limited building on Plot 242, Muhammadu Buhari Way, Central Business District, Abuja; NICON Hotels Limited building located at Plot 557, Port-Harcourt Crescent, off Gimbiya Street, Abuja and the building of NICON Lekki Limited also at No. 5, Customs Street, Lagos.
The statement added then that in addition to the takeover of the listed properties, the Court also ordered the freezing of all accounts belonging to Ibrahim and his companies including Global Fleet Oil & Gas Limited and NICON Investment Limited all of whom are defendants in the Suit No. FHL/L/CL/776/2016.
The matter between Ibrahim and the Corporation has been interminable since the loan was purchased by the government debt recovery agency during the first phase of Eligible Bank Assets (EBA) purchases from Union Bank in the early days of AMCON.