Court refuses to vacate order against Ibrahim’s seized assets

A federal High Court, Lagos, has declined to vacate an interim order through which the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) seized property belonging to a businessman, Jimoh Ibrahim, for an alleged N69.4 billion debt.

Ibrahim, NICON Investment Ltd and Global Fleet Oil and Gas Ltd, had prayed the court to set aside the order for “non-disclosure and misrepresentation of material facts.”

They further prayed the court to order AMCON to pay N50 billion indemnity for alleged failure to conduct due diligence before obtaining the said order and for misrepresentation and concealment of fact.

But Justice Rilwan Aikawa, in a nearly two-hour ruling, upheld the argument of AMCON’s counsel, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), which insists that AMCON made “full and substantial disclosure of all material facts” at the time of obtaining the orders on November 4, 2020.

Consequently, the judge ruled that the order subsists.

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