Access Bank, Don Etiebet Fight over N2.4Bn Debt

Federal High Court in Lagos on Monday refused to grant an application by Chief Don Etiebet, former Petroleum Minister’s company, seeking to stop Access Bank Plc from taking over his property known as Etiebet’s Place on Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.

This is coming as Etiebet, also petitioned Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and asked the apex regulatory body of the capital market to nullify the highly publicised landmark merger between Access Bank and Diamond Bank.

But yesterday, Justice Mohammed Liman in his ruling on the application by Etiebet against Access Bank, also refused an application for stay of execution of a December 17, 2018 judgment of Justice Ibrahim Buba, which empowered Access Bank to take over the property located on Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja, Lagos, in the name of Etiebet’s company, Obodex Nigeria Limited.

The bank had dragged Obodex Nigeria Limited before the court over an alleged debt said to be in the tune of N2.4 billion.

The firm had challenged the court’s jurisdiction to hear the suit.

Justice Buba, last December 17, dismissed the firm’s objection and ruled in the bank’s favour.

Access Bank subsequently took over Etiebet’s Place and appointed Mr. Kunle Ogunba, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, as receiver/ manager to manage the property towards recovering the alleged debt.

Dissatisfied, Obodex Nigeria filed an appeal as well as an application for stay of execution of the judgment.

Through its lawyer, Mr. Dele Adesina (SAN), it sought an order restraining Ogunba and his privies or assignees from, “advertising or offering for sale, selling, mortgaging, transferring, alienating or otherwise interfering with the applicant’s equitable right of redemption on the property situated and lying at 21 Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja, Lagos, also known as Etiebet’s House, pending the hearing and final determination of the applicant’s appeals.”

While urging the court to grant his application, Adesina said, “I urge your Lordship to grant a stay of proceedings and stay of execution so that we’re not foisted this court with a fait accompli.”

But Access Bank, through Ogunba, opposed Obodex’s application, saying it was “totally misconceived”.

He said the receiver-manager was already in control of the applicant’s property, hence the application was belated.

“The defendant wants to eat his cake and have it. It’s very reprehensible. They admitted the debt and pleaded for time. They signed a mortgage. We urge your Lordship to discountenance their application,” Ogunba said.

Meanwhile, Etiebet, wants the highly publicised landmark merger between Access Bank and Diamond Bank nullified.

In the petition to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Etiebet drew the attention of SEC to the fact that Access Bank and its Managing Director Herbert Wigwe and other executive directors are currently facing criminal charges before the High Court in Shagamu, Ogun State and the High Court in Ikeja, Lagos.

The petition dated March 19, 2019, said his decision to seek for the nullification of the merger was in pursuant to the provision of Section 124 (3) of the Investment and Securities Act 2007 which ‘empowers any person to voluntarily file any document, affidavit, statement or other relevant information in respect of the merger’.

He accused the bank of hiding the financial fraud cases it has from the regulators, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

He insisted that if the regulators had got wind of the case which the bank had hidden from them while seeking their approval, the regulators would not have given approval for the merger.

Etiebet, who is a shareholder in Access Bank, had last month petitioned SEC on his position against the merger based on the fraud case his company has against the bank, including another in Ogun State involving a steel company.

He also based his decision to seek the nullification of the merger on the provision of Section 127 of the Investment and Securities Act 2007, which states that “The Commission may revoke its own decision to approve or conditionally approve a small, intermediate or large merger if the decision was based on incorrect information for which a party to the merger is responsible and the approval was obtained in deceit”.