Hours after the reported freezing of all Benue State Accounts by a court, the state government on Thursday afternoon disclosed that it is yet to be served with a writ of summons.
Nigerians woke to the news that a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday gave an interim order that all bank accounts of Benue State Government in some banks in the country be frozen following its inability to pay back the N333 million loan which it borrowed in 2008.
Reacting to the development, Benue State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Barr Michael Gusa, who disclosed this to the media by telephone, said state government lawyers were already at work and had begun the processes to legally address the matter.
‘We have not been served with that process. We have not been served with that writ, the originating summons,’ he said.
‘Since we have not been served with the originating summons and because of the urgency of the matter and the way all government accounts have been placed on a lien, we have sent our lawyers to the court to find out what the problem is.’
Gusa explained that the ex parte motion which culminated in freezing all state government’s accounts was based on a purported contract that was gone into by a businessman and the Labour Congress in Benue State in 2008.
He said all that the state government did then was that it offered an Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) by way of directing that the loan will be paid.
‘So AMCON now went and purchased that loan from the businessman and have now gone to court.
‘But as I said, we have not seen the process because we have not been served. So, when we get the process, we will also commence proceedings to set aside the orders that were made by the motion ex parte.
‘I don’t want to say anything because the matter is pending in court but all I can say is that the transaction was done in 2008 and up till now the money has not been paid and you are going to garnish our accounts now?
‘When we get our writ of summons, we will also send our processes in court and get it placated,’ he said.
Credit: Daily Sun