The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division has dismissed an appeal by the Chairman of Global Fleet Group, Mr Jimoh Ibrahim, challenging the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON)’s seizure of his 12 assets and freezing of all his accounts over the alleged N69.4billion debt.
AMCON Head of Corporate Communications Department, Jude Nwauzor, said the appellate court’s ruling was another victory and the required cheering news in the recovery drive of the government agency.
In a statement issued on Friday, December 10 shortly after the Court’s ruling, Nwauzor said the justices upheld the arguments of AMCON’s lead counsel and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Dr Kemi Pinheiro, who had prayed that Ibrahim’s application be dismissed.
The first defendant, Jimoh Ibrahim and his company as the second defendant were also represented by two SANs, Niyi Akintola, and Bolaji Ayorinde, respectively.
Nwauzor explained in the statement that in response to the order of Justice Rilwan Aikawa of the Federal High Court in Lagos issued on November 18, 2020, AMCON took possession of all 12 properties through its Debt Recovery Agent – Pinheiro Legal Partners.
These assets retrieved from Jimoh Ibrahim include the building of NICON Investment Limited at Plot 242, Muhammadu Buhari Way, Central Business District, Abuja; NICON Hotels Limited building at Plot 557, Port-Harcourt Crescent, off Gimbiya Street, Abuja; the building of NICON Lekki Limited also at No. 5, Customs Street, Lagos; and the building of Abuja International Hotels Limited located at No. 3, Hospital Road, Lagos
Other properties are the Energy House located on No. 94, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos; NICON Building at No. 40, Madeira Street, Maitama, Abuja; another property at Plot 242, Muhammadu Buhari Way, Abuja; the former Allied Bank Building on Mile 2, Oshodi Expressway, Lagos; NICON Building at No. 40, Madeira Street, Maitama, Abuja; a residential apartment at Road 2, House A14, Victoria Garden City, Lagos; NICON Hotels Building at Plot 3, Road 3, Victoria Garden City, Lagos, as well as the NICON Luxury Hotel’s Building, Garki I, FCT, Abuja.
In addition to the takeover of the properties, the lower court had 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 were defendants in suit No. FHL/L/CL/776/2016.
According to Nwauzor’s statement; “AMCON, in November 2020, following a court order seized the properties of Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim over an alleged debt of N69.4 billion, which was sold to AMCON by Union Bank as a non-performing loan in the early days of AMCON.”
The AMCON spokesman further said as a follow-up to that decision, both sets of applicants filed independent appeals in the Court of Appeal, adding that at the hearing of the appeals on September 30, Pinheiro raised a preliminary objection to the appeal contending that the appeal was incompetent because the appellants failed to seek leave prior to the filing of the appeal.
In a unanimous decision on Friday, the appellate court upheld the preliminary objection of AMCON and dismissed both appeals.
The statement said; “The implication of this is that AMCON remains in possession of the properties attached by the order of Hon. Justice R.M. Aikawa on November 4, 2021.”
