19th January, 2024
By Akin Kuponiyi
The Asset management Corporation of Nigeria AMCON has renewed its legal battle against Mobil Workers Multipurpose Co-operative Society, Eket, in order to recover a debt of N14,733,502,334.06.
According to amended statement of claim granted pursuant to order of the court dated 4th of December,2023 and filed before the court by a Lagos Attorney on behalf of AMCON before a Federal High Court in Lagos, the Plaintiff avers that in 2012, it acquired and took over the non-performing loan of the Defendant with United Bank of Africa Plc, pursuant to its powers under the Asset management Corporation of Nigeria Act 2019.
AMCON says that prior to acquiring the Defendant’s loan, the Bank granted upon request a #7, 000,000,000,00 (Seven Billion Naira) Term Loan facilities to the Defendant to finance the personal need of their members. The terms, according to it, included the irrevocable domiciliation of all the Defendant’s members’ monthly contributions and deduction by Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited being the parent company of the Defendant, to be paid to the Bank.
It says the Defendant duly accepted the facilities by its board resolutions held on the 15th September, 2007 and 11th March, 2008.
It further says the Defendant made a complete drawdown of the N7 billion availed it by the bank for the purposes for which it was disbursed.
It claims one of the terms in the accepted offer letter was that the Defendant would forward to the bank a letter to its parent Company, instructing it to irrevocably domicile monthly contributions/deductions of the Defendant with it until the entire sum advanced was completely paid off.
It says the Defendant duly instructed the paymaster of the parent Company to pay directly to the bank.
It alleges the Parent Company failed to carry out the instruction by domiciling the deductions/contributions of members of the Defendant as conveyed in the letter dated the 14th December, 2007 and 11th March, 2008 as agreed between the parties leading to the Defendant’s multiple defaults in its monthly interest and half-yearly principal repayment of the facility disbursed.
The Plaintiff says it believes that the Defendant’s company failed to make the necessary payments because the Defendant surreptitiously withdrew the said instruction which explained why the anticipated payments ceased.
AMCON is asking the court for judgement against the Defendant in the sum of N14, 733, 502, 334.06(Fourteen Billion, Seven Hundred and Thirty-Three Million, Five Hundred and Two Thousand, Three Hundred and Thirty-Four Naira and Six Kobo)being outstanding sum owed by the Defendant to the Plaintiff as of 4th April, 2022.
It wants interest at the rate of 14%Per annum from the 4th of April, 2022 until Judgment is delivered in this case. It also asked for
interest at the rate of 25% per annum from the date the judgment is delivered till the final liquidation of the entire judgment debt.
It asks for general damages in the sum of N500, 000,000.00 (Five Hundred Million Naira)
The case has been adjourned till February 19,2024 for hearing.