Justice Nicholas Oweibo of the Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos, has adjourned the hearing of all pending applications in a bankruptcy suit filed by Access Bank Plc against businessman Dr. Ambrosie “ABC” Orjiakor until September 26.
This comes as a result of Access Bank Plc’s suit, numbered FHC/L/BK/08/2023, due to Dr. ABC Orjiakor’s alleged inability to pay the sum of $101 million in US Dollars, which he owes the bank.
The respondents named in the suit include Seplat Energy Plc, Helko Nigeria Limited, Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc, Salvic Petroleum Resources Limited, Zebbra Energy Limited, Ordrec Group Limited, Helko Marine Services Limited, Berwick Nigeria Limited, Abbeycourt Petroleum Company Limited, Abbeycourt Energy Services Limited, Abbeycourt Company Limited, and Pursley Resources Limited.
Justice Oweibo set the date after the legal representatives of the parties involved in the suit informed the court that they had submitted their respective processes to the case.
On July 26, the judge granted an ex-parte motion filed by Access Bank’s lawyer, Mr. Kunle Ogunba (SAN), leading to the freezing of Orjiako’s bank accounts and other assets due to the alleged debt to the bank. The order remains in effect until the bank’s motion on notice for the appointment of a special manager is determined.
Furthermore, the court prohibited Orjiako and his agents, as well as anyone acting on his authority, from operating or tampering with his funds in any Nigerian bank or financial institution. The court also prevented Orjiako’s former employers and investment entities from engaging in financial transactions with him until the debt is settled.
During the recent hearing, Ogunba informed the court that the creditor/applicant had executed the court’s orders on the listed properties. He pointed out that apart from shares, there were other properties subject to the order. Upon execution, it was discovered that some of the properties were unrelated to the debtor. As a result, he requested the court to remove properties C, D, and F from the suit due to the debtor’s lack of connection to them.
In contrast, Orjiako’s lawyer, O. Kalu, argued that his client had been evicted from his residence and office, which he claimed contradicted the court’s order. Ogunba contested this argument.
Similarly, Mr. Babajide Koku (SAN), the lawyer representing the 2nd to 12th Respondents, informed the court that he had urgently filed an application to lift the interim order. He asserted that properties A and B listed in the suit did not belong to the debtor.
Providus Bank, one of the banks directed to provide justification, stated through its legal representative that one of the properties mentioned by Koku was used by Orjiakor as collateral to secure a loan of N2 billion.
After considering these applications, the court adjourned the proceedings to September 26 for the hearing of all pending applications.
Credit: The Nigeria Lawyer