Supreme Court maintains nullification of AMCON’s asset seizure

On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeal’s ruling, which declared the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria’s acquisition of Suru Worldwide Ventures Nigeria Limited’s landed property void.

In May 2017, a Federal High Court located in Lagos issued an order for AMCON to seize the company’s assets due to nonpayment of the loan that was taken out from the now-defunct Oceanic Bank.

This occurred as a result of a lawsuit filed by AMCON, which asked the court to order security agencies to offer protection so that it could enforce its possessory rights as a legal mortgagee under the Deeds of Legal Mortgage pertaining to the properties owned by Suru Worldwide Ventures Nigeria Limited.

But the company appealed the decision, claiming that because it was left out of the defendant list, it was not given a fair trial.

The appellate court determined that the takeover order proceedings were void due to AMCON’s omission of Suru Worldwide Ventures Nigeria Limited as a defendant in its Federal High Court suit, as per the lead judgment rendered by Justice Ugochukwu Ogakwu.

In addition, the court mandated that the case be brought back before the Federal High Court for a new trial.

AMCON appealed the appellate court’s ruling to the Supreme Court because it was unhappy with it.

Justice Emmanuel Agim ordered a new hearing at the High Court and affirmed the court’s decision to stop the company takeover after reading the lead judgment at the apex court.

“I find no merit in the appeal,” he declared. Hereby, the appeals court’s decision is upheld.

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