The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has revoked the house sale contract with Farouk Bunza, a former senator who represented Kebbi central from 2003 to 2007, citing non-compliance with the terms and conditions of the offer.
Speaking to the press on Wednesday, Thompson Sunday, the NDIC managing director (MD), said the corporation revoked Bunza’s house sale contract, not due to politics or lack of title documents.
“When you buy a property as is, you take it with all its defects,” Sunday explained.
“It is similar to buying at an auction. You cannot complain afterwards about defects that were disclosed from the beginning.”
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Sunday said the property, part of a failed bank’s assets, was under an equitable mortgage — meaning the title document was not perfected or handed to the bank before the NDIC took over.
“In this case, the title document was not among the assets taken over by the NDIC,” the MD explained.
“Our examiners only record what they physically meet when we assume control of a failed bank. We cannot release a title document we do not have.”
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Sunday said Bunza failed to meet the offer’s terms within the stipulated period, triggering contract termination, adding that the issue is the outstanding sum, not the title.
He explained that the NDIC rejected Bunza’s 36-month repayment request and instead offered six months, citing the need to quickly recover assets and pay depositors of failed banks.
The NDIC boss dismissed allegations of plans to resell the property to a politically connected individual as baseless, saying its properties are openly advertised, and anyone can buy.
He also said that a letter suggesting the release of the title document upon payment was written by unauthorised junior staff and was nullified, with internal disciplinary action taken.
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The MD further said Bunza had previously bought another property from the corporation successfully, showing no bias.
Sunday added that Bunza can still participate in the upcoming open bidding for the disputed property, as the NDIC remains focused on recovering assets for depositors.
