N5trn AMCON debt: Police to support recovery drive, says IGP

Usman Alkali Baba, Inspector-General of Police (IGP), says the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) needs the collaboration of all assistant inspector-generals (AIGs) and commissioners of police (CPs) across Nigeria in its N5 trillion debt recovery drive. 

The IGP said this when Ahmed Lawan Kuru, AMCON managing director/chief executive officer, paid him a courtesy visit at the Nigeria police force headquarters in Abuja, on Tuesday.

According to Alkali Baba, AMCON’s debt recovery drive is now at a very critical stage of enforcement.

“Like I said, I remember when AMCON was created, we were told that whenever AMCON calls for support, we (police) must support them as a lead agency of the government in charge of internal security. All we need is a letter from AMCON,” he said.

“We need to resuscitate that directive nationwide to all the AIGs and CPs to support AMCON within the ambit of the law so that the agency can continue to carry out their debt recovery effort, which is challenging because some of your debtors from experience go to court to challenge your activities just to waste time not because they will win the case.

“So, AMCON needs the police because as long as AMCON is concerned, it will continue to have litigations and enforcements that would require the backing of the police for execution.”

The IGP also asked AMCON to fulfil all that is required by Nigerian laws so those police officers would have full coverage of the law whenever they are confronted during enforcements on obligors (debtors) of AMCON.

In his remarks, Kuru said AMCON is nationalistic and requires the support of all, particularly law enforcement agencies.

“IG, the police is critical to our recovery effort through enforcement and so on. We have been able to recover over N1.4 trillion, and more than 60 percent has been due to enforcement because our obligors will not willingly come to us for repayment,” he said.

“So, this is a national assignment, which we cannot achieve without the support of law enforcement agencies.”

Kuru had said out of the N5 trillion owed by obligors, 350 of them are holding on to debts worth N3.6 trillion.