N69.4bn debt: Jimoh Ibrahim's properties remain seized-Court

Efforts by Barr. Jimoh Ibrahim, businessman and politician, to reclaim his seized properties over an alleged N69.4 billion debt have hit a brick wall following the refusal of the Federal High Court in Lagos to vacate an interim order that allowed the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to seize the said properties.

Mr Ibrahim, NICON Investment Ltd and Global Fleet Oil and Gas Ltd, had approached the court to seek an order to set aside the order obtained based on “non-disclosure and misrepresentation of material facts

Justice Rilwan Aikawa, however, upheld the argument of AMCON’s lawyer, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN) that AMCON made “full and substantial disclosure of all material facts” at the time of obtaining the orders on November 4, 2020.

“I have carefully studied the respective applications and arguments for or against parties. I agree with the counsel for the claimant Kemi Pinheiro (SAN) that this suit is sui generis as Section 49(1)(2) of the AMCON Act says that the order made on the 4th of November, 2020, can be made ex-parte on mere suspicion that the rest is about to be dissipated

” In my opinion, we have a unique situation here. The application that led to the ex-parte order made on the 4th of November 2020 was brought according to the provisions of AMCON Act which defines this as a Federal High Court.

“I do not think that based on the above reasons, that this application has made a case out for the order of this court to be vacated. The appropriate order to be made in this circumstance is to dismiss same and, accordingly, this application is hereby dismissed,” he said.

Following the November 4 order, AMCON announced on November 18 that it had effectively taken over 12 properties belonging to the businessman and his firms.

The properties included the NICON Investment Ltd building Plot 242, Muhammadu Buhari Way, Central Business District, Abuja; NICON Hotels Ltd building at Plot 557, Port-Harcourt Crescent, off Gimbiya Street, Abuja and the building of NICON Lekki Ltd also at No. 5, Customs Street, Lagos.