HOTELIER,AMCON IN BIG LEGAL FACE-OFF
BY ABDULMUMINI ADEKU,NOBEL LAUREATE
The Asset Management Company of Nigeria is asking The Peace Global Satellite Communications Limited and The Peace Hotels Limited to quit its property in Lagos,Nigeria…
In a chat with The News office Desk of the E.N.M.Paedia Express Multimedia Group of Lagos,Nigeria in his office recently during a courtesy visit ,The Executive Chairman of the group of companies ,Barrister Livingstone Oreye said the quit order was coming on the heels of an ex parte order via an Abuja Federal High court which AMCON had recently secured.
The Hotelier went down memory lane to recall to this reporter how Peace Global in 204 had borrowed the sum of N178 million and out of which N162million has since being paid back to Wema Bank Plc .
He recalled that a case of thunderstorm which affected Peace Global satellite communications operations prevented the group from servicing the remaining N16million with the situation putting pressures on Wema Bank to attempt to selling the collateral that was used to acquire the loan in the first place.
Oreye lamented that sometimes in 2009 they had to take Wema insurance Brokers to court as the latter did not process the thunderstorm claims for two years.
He noted that the issue was already in court before the establishment of AMCON and insisted in very strong terms that Wema Bank deliberately misrepresented to AMCON that the balance on principal ws N240million thus making AMCON to buy up the loan for N123 million.
He assured that he had written a letter to AMCON alleging false representation of figures until AMCON was joined by a court order in 2012 though it was created in 2010 and debt brought in 2011 when case was two years old in court.
His words :”As part of the efforts to pay the balance to AMCON ,Peace Global requested price of the debt by ¾ hence Wema Bank claim that Peace Global was owning N6million.
“on principal and N60 Million is ¼ of N24MILLION and on the ground that Wema Bank could not provide photocopies of the instruments with which the loan acconts was drawn down beyond N178 million “
“As a result ,the debt file was sent back to Wema Bank through the CBN but the latter returned the file back to AMCON “
The suit was later dismissed on technical grounds as the claimant was said to have failed to file the CMC forms whereas the claimant filed the CMC forms but was yet to serve the parties though the claimant later filed a notice of appeal and served it on AMCON on the 14th of November,.202 after a two days delay due to the unavailability of the certified true copy of judgment…
In his own contributions on the highly vexing matter ,the Media consultant to the group, Mr Ovie Edomi noted that without Barrister Oreye been served any form of notice a bailiff of the Federal High Courts ,Lagos in a court ordered process dated 9/03/2020 issued by same court with order expiring if there was no forms of motion on notice served within 14 days of the ex-parte order .
Edomi noted that the writ of summons was filed on the 20th /03/2020 and in the supporting affidavit it was said dubiously that the matter was not pending before any courts whereas it was with the supreme Courts of Nigeria.
Edomi pointed out that his client ,oreye since filed a statement of defence ..
The clamants have applied for the ex parte order to be vacated and have served it on the receiver as at press time.
Oreye told this reporter that he has been in a state of shock ever since he learnt that he ws being asked to pay over a billion naira despite the fact that AMCON had brought the debt for N123million and up till date neither Wema Bank nor AMCON have being able to produce photocopies of the instruments with which Peace Global satellite communications limited drew the account down beyond N178million…
Despite AMCON knowing fully well that the case was now at the supreme courts ,they had abused the judicial process by taking same to a lower courts ,The Federal High Courts in Abuja while threatening that if Oreye and his companies did not settle out of courts by force on or before the 16th of November,2020 they will have no choice but to throw him and his family members out of the properties now in dispute .
The claimants two properties at obadina street in Omole Estate ,Ojodu –Berger in Lagos,Nigeria which houses on-going businesses of the group were at some point sealed up with 15 heavily armed policemen in attendance ,oreye residence was taken possession off .
As at press time, despite the court ruling in favor of Oreye ,AMCON has refused to bulge
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