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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL), its directors and shareholders have commenced contempt proceedings against senior officials of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) for misleading the Federal High Court into obtaining an order ex-parte.
Specifically, AMCON and its lawyers allegedly failed to disclose to Justice Akintola Aluko that Justice Lewis Allagoa had restrained AMCON from appointing or continuing any receivership when they obtained the Order Ex Parte.
Justice Allagoa had earlier restrained them from taking any steps whatsoever towards appointing or continuing with any appointment of a Receiver over GHL.
Following this, the Form 48 – Notice of consequence of disobedience of court orders has now issued against the following: Chairman of AMCON, Dr. Bala Bello, Mr Gbenga Alade (MD of AMCON), Mr Adeshola Lamidi (ED of AMCON); Mr Lucky Adaghe (ED of AMCON); Dr Aminu Mukhtar Dan’amu (ED of AMCON).
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The rest are: Mr Oluseyi Akinwunmi (purported Receiver appointed by AMCON); Mr Bidemi Ademola-Bello SAN (Counsel to AMCON and the MD of AMCON, who was in Court when Honourable Justice A. Lewis-Allagoa made the order and he undertook in open Court to abide by the orders of the Court); and
Mr Ade Adedeji SAN (Counsel to AMCON and the MD of AMCON, whose firm is representing AMCON and the MD of AMCON).
Furthermore, they misrepresented the facts that there was an Eligible Bank Asset (EBA) issued by AMCON to GHL. This is not true. Indeed, AMCON made a part-payment and deposit towards a First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) EBA and made Tranche 1 payment to First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FBN), and did not make the 2nd and final payment to FBN to complete the consideration towards an EBA.
FBN has since offered to return this EBA deposit in Letters to AMCON and processes filed in Court. Instead of pursuing FBN, AMCON, for some curious and inexplicable reasons, are seeking to go after GHL, despite all their correspondence to the contrary blaming FBN, which are all before the Courts.
Justice A. Lewis-Allagoa has now ordered substituted service of the Contempt processes to all of the above-named persons through their official email addresses and WhatsApp phone numbers, and/or by delivering same to them at their official addresses and/or by publishing same in at least two newspapers with nationwide circulation in Nigeria, and other news media with nationwide presence in Nigeria.
