TheCable

A federal high court in Lagos has finally declined to vacate an interim order through which the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) seized the properties of Jimoh Ibrahim, a Nigerian businessman, over an alleged N69.4 billion debt.

Rilwan Aikawa, the judge, in his ruling, upheld the arguments of AMCON’s lawyer, Kemi Pinheiro, a senior advocate of Nigeria, that AMCON made “full and substantial disclosure of all material facts” at the time of obtaining the orders on November 4, 2020.

Ibrahim had prayed 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.

Following the November 4 order, AMCON had announced on November 18 that it had effectively taken 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 Jimoh Ibrahim and his companies including Global Fleet Oil & Gas Limited and NICON Investment Limited all of whom are defendants in the suit.

AMCON, in a statement said the case between Jimoh 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.

In reaction, Ibrahim had told TheCable that Union Bank is actually indebted to his group of companies as they currently have £220 million deposit with the bank.