Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal, on Friday, dismissed two appeals by the Chairman of Global Fleet Group, Jimoh Ibrahim, to recover assets and bank accounts in possession of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) over N69.4 billion debt.
A Federal High Court in Lagos in a judgment on November 4, 2020, had ordered AMCON to seize the assets and freez the bank accounts.
Dissatisfied with the judgment of the lower court, Ibrahim had lodged the two appeals to upturn the judgment.
In dismissing the appeal, the appellate court held that the trial was right to have ordered AMCON to seize Ibrahim’s assets.
Thus, the Appeal Court upheld the November 4, 2020 order of Justice Rilwan Aikawa which authorised AMCON to take over Ibrahim’s assets.
In a judgment on Friday, the Justices unanimously upheld the arguments of AMCON’s lawyer, Dr. Kemi Pinheiro (SAN) who prayed the court to dismiss Ibrahim’s applications because they were incompetent.
AMCON had obtained an ex-parte order against Nicon Investment Limited, Global Fleet Oil & Gas Limited and Jimoh Ibrahim to freeze their accounts in various banks as well as attaching various property of the companies.
The property attached included NICON Investment Limited’s Building at Plot 242, Muhammadu Buhari Way, Central Business District, Abuja; NICON Hotels Limited’s Building, Plot 557, Port Harcourt Crescent, off Gimbiya Street, Abuja; NICON Lekki Limited’s Building, No. 5, Customs Street, Lagos; Abuja International Hotels Limited’s Building – No. 3, Hospital Road, Lagos; Residential Apartment at Road 2, House A14, Victoria Garden City, Lagos; NICON Hotels Building, Plot 3, Road 3, Victoria Garden City, Ajah, Lagos and NICON Luxury Hotel’s Building, Garki 1, Abuja.
Some other entities which AMCON said was linked to Ibrahim, include NICON Insurance Limited, Nigerian-Re-Insurance Limited, Abuja Hotel Limited and Nicon Hotels Limited also filed an application asking the judge to discharge the said order.
At the hearing of the appeals on September 30, 2021, Pinheiro raised a preliminary objection to the appeals contending that the appeals were incompetent because the appellants failed to seek leave prior to the filing of the appeals.
In a unanimous decision on Friday, the Court of Appeal upheld the preliminary objection of AMCON and accordingly dismissed both appeals.
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