A Federal court in metropolis has fastened midsummer, twenty16 to rule on associate application by Ecobank African nation restricted seeking to bar Anchorage Leisures restricted from accessing its funds in 20 banks over alleged N5.5bn debt.
Anchorage Leisures restricted is closely-held by have bourgeois, Dr. Oba Otudeko.
The bank claimed that Anchorage and its sister corporations – Honeywell cluster African nation restricted and Honeywell Four Mills Plc – were indebted to that.
It had on October twenty seven, last year secured associate order of interim injunction restraining Anchorage from accessing its funds unfinished the determination of a petition seeking a finishing up order against the corporate.
The interim order was, however, discharged on March eighteen, 2016 by Justice Jude Dagat following associate application by the corporate.
Displeased with the choice, Ecobank, through its professional person, Mr. Kunle Ogunba (SAN), after headed for the Court of charm seeking to overturn the ruling.
It after filed associate application before Justice Dagat, seeking a keep of execution of the ruling unfinished the determination of the charm.
Arguing the applying on Friday, Ecobank’s professional person, Ogunba, aforementioned permitting Anchorage access to its fund can foist a accomplishment on the Court of charm or render its call worthless, within the event that the Court of charm eventually finds benefit within the bank’s charm.
“The interim order created on October twenty seven, 2015, was made specifically to stop the respondent from dissipating its funds within the custody of all the banks listed.
“There is imperative have to be compelled to preserve the res of the charm to avoid foisting a state of affairs of helplessness on the Court of charm, a judicature of record,” Ogunba argued.
The professional person claimed that Anchorage and its sister corporations were doing everything to avoid paying the debt he claimed they owed his consumer.
Ogunba aforementioned, “They need to bury the very fact of their liability to USA by partaking in blind. they're throwing all spanners within the work to avoid paying the debt. As I speak, the liability is over N4bn.”
But counsel for Anchorage, augur Olanipekun, urged the court to reject the applying, speech that his consumer would be prejudiced if the applying was granted.
Olanipekun claimed that the bank had did not prove that the alleged liability.
He said, “They haven't declared what quantity we tend to owe. They didn't exhibit our financial statement to point out that we tend to square measure indebted. it's the law that wherever there's no statement of account, a celebration isn't entitled to any indulgence,” Olanipekun aforementioned.
Justice Dagat adjourned until midsummer to rule on the applying.
In its petition, Ecobank claimed that Honeywell cluster is indebted to that to the tune of N5.5bn.
The bank claimed that once the “huge obligations” of the 3 sister corporations hit N5.5billion, Otudeko had pleaded with the bank to grant them “huge concession to modify them liquidate their chronic liability.”
The bank aforementioned following any negotiation, it absolutely was in agreement that Otudeko’s corporations would create a “bullet payment” of N3.5bilion, however they allegedly did not do thus.
“The soul (Anchorage) and also the 2 different member-companies of Honeywell cluster Ltd, in sheer disregard of the sacred concessionary terms, didn't create a right away bullet payment whereas the whole total ofN3.5billion in many installments wasn't paid in bullet kind,” the bank aforementioned.
