Court strikes out AMCON’s appeal in N24b.6 debt case
Supreme Court has struck out an appeal by Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON)against Suru Worldwide Ventures Nigeria Limited and its Managing Director, Mr. Edward Akinlade, over a disputed debt claim of N24.6 billion.
The court ruled the appeal: SC/CV/865/2021, was incompetent, and therefore struck it out.
The ruling was delivered by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, with Justices Ibrahim Musa Saulawa, Emmanuel Akomaye Agim, Chidiebere Nwaoma Uwa, and Abubakar Sadiq Umar, concurring
This notice of appeal, having been withdrawn for being incompetent, is struck out,” Justice Abba-Aji declared.
The legal tussle arose from a dispute between Suru Worldwide Ventures and Oceanic Bank Plc (Ecobank Plc), over what Suru alleged to be gross mismanagement of its account.
In 2011, Suru initiated Suit FHC/L/CS/450/2011 at Federal High Court against Ecobank and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), citing inconsistent and unexplainable debt restructuring and alleged “creative accounting.”
Suru contended that its account, which was in credit, was manipulated, and that the alleged debt initially restructured to N8.3 billion in 2012 inexplicably ballooned to over N24.6 billion by 2013, despite no new facility being granted.
CBN was later struck out as a party in the suit.
AMCON entered the fray in 2016, claiming to have purchased the disputed debt from Ecobank and was joined as a co-defendant
Just two days after being joined, AMCON filed a counterclaim seeking to recover the N24.2 billion from Suru and Akinlade.
However, the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal ruled against AMCON.
The trial court found the counterclaim to be an abuse of court process, citing multiple suits by AMCON on the same subject matter and failure to obtain declaratory reliefs in an earlier case effectively extinguishing AMCON’s right to sue on the matter.
AMCON appealed to the Supreme Court in July 2021.
But on Monday, its notice of appeal was deemed incompetent and withdrawn, leading to the dismissal.
Dr. Joseph Nwobike (SAN), Kunle Gbolahan and Samuel Onah represented AMCON.
According to the notice, the hotel was forcefully taken over on September 22, 2017, in a predawn operation allegedly carried out by AMCON operatives and armed security agents without prior notice, damaging the property and traumatising guests and staff.
Suru Worldwide contended that the takeover was based on a Federal High Court order that was later set aside by the Court of Appeal, and that AMCON’s counterclaims against the company had been dismissed at both the trial and appellate levels.
The company sought an order nullifying any transactions AMCON may have entered into concerning the disputed property, and an injunction restraining further interference, and N23,087,390,000 in special damages for financial losses, brand damage, and destruction of assets.