By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Wednesday adjourned till January 16, 2021 a suit filed by the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) seeking to recover an alleged N924 million debt owed by Hardley Apartments which belongs to former Nigeria international footballer, Nwankwo Kanu.
The matter which was originally slated for mention was thereafter fixed for another date by the presiding judge, Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke for hearing of all pending applications.
AMCON had filed the suit in 2015 against Hardley Apartments and its Director, Ayoola Gam-Ikon as first and second defendants.
The case was first assigned to Justice Okon Abang, but following his transfer to another jurisdiction, it was reassigned to Justice Aneke.
Recall that in December 2015, consequent upon AMCON’s application, Justice Abang granted an order freezing the accounts of the former Super Eagles’ captain and Hardley Apartments.
The order, which was to subsist pending the determination of the suit, followed AMCON’s bid to recover the debt.
In an affidavit by a credit officer with AMCON, Mr Victor Igabor, AMCON averred that between May 2008 and January, 2011, Skye Bank offered Hardley Apartments a loan of N520,457,000. It was further averred that the hospitality firm based in Victoria Island, Lagos and Gam-Ikon, could not repay the loan.
Moreover, the defendants’ indebtedness as at October 15 was said to be N924,788,754.56, made up of principal and interest.
AMCON, which bought over the loan, told the court that if the restraining order was not granted, Kanu’s company and its assets could be dissipated. Therefore, it sought an order attaching the debt due from Hardley Apartments as well as debts accruing from the defendants jointly and severally. AMCON prayed for an order freezing all accounts belonging to the defendants jointly and severally in any bank or financial institution in Nigeria.
While granting the order then, Justice Abang had said AMCON could in the interim, ‘possess all the movable and immovable properties known as Plot 46, Waziri Ibrahim Crescent, Victoria Island, Lagos belonging to Kanu.’The court also ordered that all accounts belonging to the defendants jointly and severally anywhere and in any bank and any financial institution in Nigeria be frozen pending the hearing of the suit.
The case again came up on June 17, 2015 but was adjourned till October 15, 2019 due to court vacation. Thereafter the matter was adjourned to January 28, 2020 and assigned to Justice Aneke.
