AMCON enforces take over of AfriJet Airlines

Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), at the weekend, took possession of Afrijet Airlines Limited and its other related assets in Lagos over unpaid N10 billion debt.

The action was in line with a court order by Justice Chuka Austine Obiozor of The Federal High Court Lagos Division, that granted an interim injunction against Afrijet Airlines Limited, owned by Chief Vitalis Ibe, over the N10b debt.

Also affected by the takeover are Continental Aviation Services Limited; Afrijet Plaza, the corporate head office of the airlines located on Sheraton-Opebi Link Road Ikeja, Opebi, Lagos; Ibe’s asset at Plot 22, Jimoh Odutola Street, off Eric Moore Road, Surulere, Lagos; as well as his office at the Airport.

Head of Corporate Communications, AMCON, Jude Nwauzor, in a statement, said that the company had since appointed Prof. Gbolahan Elias (SAN) as Receiver/Manager of the seized assets.

A director in Afrijet, Alhaji Mohammed Tukur confirmed the development, saying they were resolving the matter with the agency.He said the matter, which comes up on Friday in court, would help to resolve the issues.

The court order mandated the Receiver/Manager to also take over on behalf of AMCON and any other offices, branches, stores, warehouses, factories of Chief Ibe and his companies located and/or traced for the purpose of satisfying the indebtedness.

Justice Chuka Austine Obiozor, the presiding judge, while granting the order on the application of Prof. Gbolahan Elias (SAN), counsel to AMCON, restrained Ibe and his companies, directors, agents, servants and/or privies from operating, withdrawing from or otherwise tampering with the funds belonging to and/or deposited in any of his bank accounts under whatever name or guise in any bank or financial institution in Nigeria. Chief Ibe who would not repay the huge debt owed the Corporation has been in protracted negotiations with AMCON.

The court therefore ordered the Inspector General of Police, Assistant Inspectors General of Police, and the Commissioner of Police in charge of Lagos State, its Deputy and all other Police Officers under them to assist Prof. Gbolahan Elias, SAN, the Receiver/Manager and the bailiffs of the Federal High Court in the enforcement of the orders of the Court. No incident was recorded during the enforcement exercise.

It would be recalled that the Nigerian government set a deadline of April 30, 2007 for all airlines operating in the country to re-capitalise or be grounded, in an effort to ensure better services and safety.

The airline satisfied the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) criteria in terms of re-capitalization and was re-registered for operation.AMCON, under Ahmed Kuru as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, had continually maintained that it would not be business as usual for all top debtors of the corporation, because some 400 obligors account for more than N4.5 trillion, which is approximately 80 per cent of the total outstanding loan balance of the corporation’s over 12,000 accounts with obligors that have become recalcitrant over time, despite obvious efforts of the corporation.

To deal with the situation, however, the Kuru-led AMCON recently increased the tempo of its recovery activities, using firmer negotiation strategies as well as utilizing the special enforcement powers vested by the AMCON Act to compel some of its recalcitrant debtors especially those that are politically exposed and business heavyweights to repay their debts.

Afrijet Airlines formally operated from the NAHCO Building on the grounds of Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Ikeja, Lagos. At some point in the history of the airline, it also operated regional cargo operations and high profile security flight schedules in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The airline later moved to its corporate headquarters in Opebi, Lagos, which was one of the assets AMCON took over. Afrijet Airlines still maintains an aviation maintenance shop with its sister company, Elite Aviation.