Again, AMCON loses bid to take over Bi-Courtney’s assets

The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has lost its bid to take over the assets of Wale babalakin’s Bi-Courtney Group.

Okon Abang, a justice of the federal high court in Lagos, had ordered AMCON to take over the assets of the company, including Terminal II of Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, over an alleged debt of N50 billion.

But Ibrahim Buba, also a judge of the federal high court in Lagos, subsequently vacated the order.

Buba held that the orders constituted abuse of court process because they were obtained through concealment of material facts.

Dissatisfied with the ruling of Buba, AMCON, in a notice of appeal filed through its lawyer, Olisa Agbakoba, headed to the appeal court.

AMCON contended that the orders of lower court setting aside Abang’s orders were made without jurisdiction and that it was trite in law that a court cannot grant prayers not sought by any of the parties before it.

However, in its judgement, the appellate court, presided over by Sidi Bage, upheld the decision of the lower court, adding that the circumstances under which AMCON obtained the ex-parte order against Bi-Courtney Group amounted to an abuse of court.

Bage held that the ex-parte order was obtained in the face of subsisting order of Mohammed Liman (also of the federal high court) delivered on November 4, 2011, which restrained the federal government and its agencies from taking any step to take over Bi-Courtney Group.

In its unanimous decision, the appellate court held that the lower court judge did not raise any issue suo motu (on his own) as alleged by the appellant (AMCON).

The court observed that parties extensively addressed the lower court on the issue of abuse of court process.

On September 22, 2014, Abang appointed Agbakoba, a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), as the receiver/manager over Bi-Courtney assets.