A Federal High Court sitting in
Abuja, on Thursday, varied an earlier order it made, granting the Asset
Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) immediate possession of properties
belonging to Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited its owner, Ifeanyi Ubah.
The court, had last week gave
AMCON an order to freeze all the assets belonging to Ubah and Capital Oil
anywhere they are located.
The order was sequel to a motion ex
parte brought by AMCON seeking for the freezing of all his assets.
Ubah and Capital Oil are allegedly
indebted to AMCON to the tune of N48.014 billion.
Ruling on the ex parte,the presiding
judge, Justice Abdu Kafarati had granted the order as prayed.
But at the resumed hearing on
Thursday, Counsel to Ubah, R. A Lawal-Rabana (SAN) asked the court to allow
his client access to 50 per cent of the credit balance in some of his
accounts with the United Bank of Africa (UBA), so he can pay salaries and
attend to personal needs.
Counsel to AMCON, Kemi Balogun
(SAN), opposed the application on ground that the account balance presented to
the court was incorrect.
Moreover, he said the defendants had
met with his client and given an undertaking not to challenge the earlier order
made by the court.
Varying the order, Justice Abdul
Kafarati said the defendants can withdraw 25 per cent of the amount disclosed
by UBA in its affidavit.
Meanwhile, the court has fixed
November 30 to hear the defendants’ application seeking to set aside the order.
In the application, Rabana is
seeking an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the plaintiff
from disposing, selling or leasing properties belonging to his client, pending
the determination of the suit.
He averred in his affidavit that the
parties had agreed on modalities for re-payment of the loans and rescheduled
payment to be spread over a period of eight years from 2013.
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