AMCON takes over Unicorn Place & Leisure assets over N1.3bn debt

Following the order of Honourable Justice Saliu Saidu of the Federal High Court, Lagos division, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has taken over assets belonging to Ike Nwabuoku, the Chief Promoter of Unicorn Place & Leisure Services Limited over a staggering indebtedness of over N1.3billion.

In compliance with the enforcement order, AMCON at the weekend said that it has since on Thursday, June 25, 2020, took effective possession of the two properties through its Debt Recovery Agent-Kayode Ajekigbe of Chris O. Okunowo & Co, which include properties situate at 1 & 2, Kwara Street, Osborne, Ikoyi, Lagos and Plot 23 Block 65, Lekki Peninsula Residential Scheme, both in Lagos State.

The Court also ordered that the Bank Accounts of the company and its major stakeholders, Ike Nwabuoku and one other Ifechukwu A. Onyema is frozen pending the final determination of the Suit.

The case of Unicorn Place & Leisure Services Limited and its promoters have been interminable because the loan was purchased by AMCON during the 1st phase of its Eligible Bank Assets (EBA) purchases from Keystone Bank since 2011.

Since the purchase, AMCON has offered the obligor all sorts of concessions and explored all avenues to resolve the debt harmoniously, but the obligor and his company Unicorn Place & Leisure Services Limited has remained recalcitrant and unenthusiastic to repay the huge debt to AMCON.

Confirming that AMCON had enforced on the assets and frozen the accounts in line with the order of the court, Jude Nwauzor, Head, Corporate Communications Department of the Corporation explained that all avenues of the peaceful resolution were explored to no avail before AMCON made the hard decision, which led to the eventual takeover of the assets.

He said AMCON before now held several meetings with the obligor and arrived at agreements in principle, but the obligor always made a turnaround to default, leaving AMCON with no other option than to approach the court and in the wisdom of the honourable court secured the order to take over.

Even with the rampaging cases of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, AMCON from all indications has no intention of slowing down in achieving its recovery mandate. The takeover of Unicorn Place & Leisure Services Limited is coming a few days after the government recovery the agency also took over the two buildings belonging to Doggi Group Limited in high-brow areas of Asokoro and Katampe Hills in Abuja.

We gathered that AMCON will take over a lot more companies in the coming weeks especially with the additional powers in its amended act, which President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law last year, which is meant to enable the Corporation to increase the speed of recovery of the over N5trillion that is still outstanding.