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Tag: AMCON

  • Court hears suit against seizure of Arik Aircrafts, properties August 5

    Court hears suit against seizure of Arik Aircrafts, properties August 5

    A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Wednesday fixed August 5, for hearing in a suit seeking to stop the seizure of the aircraft and other properties belonging to ArikAir Limited over $2.5 million indebtedness.

    The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) brought the motion on notice to the High Court sequel to Monday’s seizure of Arik aircraft and other assets by the Atlas Petroleum International Ltd and its sponsor.

    AMCON is seeking to stop the continued seizure of the Arik Airlines properties on the grounds that the airline was already under another receivership following its indebtedness to Zenith Bank Plc to the tune of N37.0 billion.

    However, Justice Iheme Nwosu, could not proceed with hearing and determination of the AMCON’s suit against the seizure of the aircraft following the discovery that the Deputy Sheriff was not served with the motion as required by law.

    Deputy Sheriffs are officials of high courts who enforce and execute judgement of courts as stipulated by law.

    Justice Nwosu subsequently fixed August 5 and 12 for hearing of the AMCON’s motion.

    Speaking with journalists shortly after the proceedings, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and counsel to Atlas Petroleum Limited, Sebastian Hon, confirmed that AMCON filed the motion seeking to stop the enforcement of the order against Arik Airline over its huge debt to Atlas Petroleum.

    The senior lawyer observed that while his clients were in the process of enforcement, “AMCON surprisingly, I will say came to intervene that Arik Air is under receivership when they were aware of the matter right from the Lagos High Court to the Supreme Court and the judgments were given against Arik.

    “We are going on with the enforcement as permitted by the law, we will not flout the law or any order of court but as it is, the Minister of Aviation who was served with the enforcement orders has succeeded in grounding two aircraft which are not related to the application AMCON brought to court to stop the enforcement.

    A former judge of the FCT High Court now in Court of Appeal, Justice Olukayode Adeniyi had on June 26, 2024, issued an order directing the attachment and sale of all movable properties of the Arik Air Limited found within the jurisdiction of the court.

    Consequently, the judgement creditor in enforcing the order of the court had seized aircraft, hangers, especially Boeing 737 with registration numbers: B737.700/5N-MJF, B737.800/5N-MJQ, DASH8.Q400 and 5N-BKK in satisfaction of the $2.5 million debt against the airline

  • Negris Assets Sale: HEDA tasks AMCON on transparency

    In a move towards greater transparency, the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre), has taken a significant step by submitting a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).

    The FOI request seeks to obtain crucial information concerning the sale of assets belonging to Negris Holding Limited.

    HEDA is a foremost Nigerian anti-corruption organization,

    Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act of 2011, the anti-corruption organization invoked Sections 2, 3, and 4 to request specific details regarding the sale process. Negris Holding Limited had its assets seized by AMCON as collateral for outstanding debts owed the company’s bankers.

    Consequently, AMCON assumed ownership of the assets on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The assets are located on Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way in Ikeja, Lagos.

    The FOI request document signed by Olanrewaju Suraju, HEDA’s Chairman, underscores the organization’s unwavering commitment to transparency and accountability in public affairs.

    The anti-corruption organization aims to acquire information pertaining to the two public advertisements that preceded the private treaty allowance; the accurate valuation conducted on the property; the identities of the beneficial owners associated with the purchasing company; as well as the payment methods employed by the beneficiary to obtain the assets.

    HEDA anticipates a response from AMCON within a seven-day timeframe following the receipt of the FOI request. The organization firmly believes that the disclosure of this information is crucial for upholding transparency and accountability in public affairs.

    By pursuing this FOI request, the CSO hopes to shed light on the intricate details surrounding the sale of Negris Limited assets. They remain committed to their core principles of transparency, accountability, and justice in public affairs.