The Union Oak Farms & Industries Limited has asked the Federal High Court, Abuja, to set aside its interim order allowing the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to possess its property situated at Plot 217, No. 6 Pokobros Industrial Layout, Awka, Anambra State.
The firm and three other defendants told Justice Inyang Ekwo via its motion on notice seen by Nairametrics that AMCON allegedly misled the court into making the interim orders on 27th July 2023.
AMCON’s claim
The debt recovery agency told the court via its process that the defendants obtained a loan facility from Oceanic Bank International Plc, now Eco Bank Plc, to finance the working capital requirements of the firm.
AMCON submitted that in consideration of the loan facility, the defendants used the property described at Plot 217, No. 6 Pokobros Industrial Layout, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria, as collateral.
“The defendants have neglected and or refused to perform the loan or pay any amount whatsoever, thus the loan facility remains due and unpaid with accrued interests,” it noted, praying the court to allow it to possess the property pending the hearing and determination of its substantive case.
The judge granted the interim order on July 27, 2023.
Firm’s response
However, the firm’s counsel, A.C. Anaenugwu (SAN), brought a motion on notice contending that the court granted the interim order on the strength of concealment, non-disclosure, and misrepresentation of material facts by AMCON.
The senior lawyer maintained that the alleged indebtedness of his client under the overdraft facility is already pending before the Supreme Court in SC/559/2023, to the knowledge of the AMCON, and therefore requires the court to decline jurisdiction on the matter.
“The Ex-parte application on the strength of which the Court made the interim orders was an abuse of court process,” he stated, praying the court to set aside the order.
What transpired in court
At the resumed proceedings, the AMCON’s legal team was not in court.
The applicants’ lawyer seized the moment to ask Justice Ekwo to set aside the interim order in line with his motion.
But the judge said he was inclined to further adjourn the case to June 6 for a hearing.
What you should know
- AMCON, a debt recovery agency, is empowered by law to help institutions recover outstanding debts if they are called upon to do so.
- But it must get that possessive power from the court, and this is why it institutes legal actions against suspected debtors.
