Babalakin SAN denies owing AMCON

The Chairman of Bi-Courtney Group of Companies, Dr Wale
Babalakin (SAN), and two of his companies are not indebted to the
Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), the company’s
management said on Tuesday.

AMCON had claimed that the eminent lawyer and businessman as
well as two of his companies – Bi-Courtney Limited (Bi-Courtney)
and Roygate Properties Limited (Roygate) – are indebted to
AMCON.

In a statement yesterday, the management recalled that on July
30, the Chairman of AMCON, Dr Muiz Banire, at a meeting at the
Presidential Villa in Abuja, released the names of firms he alleged
were AMCON’s top 20 debtors.

It claimed that the Federal Government of Nigeria, which owns
AMCON, is owing Bi-Courtney over N132 billion.

The statement said AMCON had been ordered by a competent court
of law to deduct any debt allegedly owed to AMCON by Dr Babalakin,
Bi-Courtney and Roygate from this sum.

It added: “In 2012, AMCON had alleged that Roygate, Bi-Courtney
and Resort International Limited (Resort), companies belonging to
Dr. Babalakin, were indebted to AMCON by N9 billion, N20 billion
and N20 billion respectively. On April 5, 2012, the Federal High
Court in a suit, Bi-Courtney Limited v. Attorney General of the
Federation, ordered that whatever debt that was then owed by Dr
Babalakin, Bi-Courtney, Roygate and other associated companies to
any agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria, be deducted from
the over N132 billion, which the Federal Government owed
Bi-Courtney (the set-off Order).

“An appeal by the Federal Government against the set-off order
was dismissed by the Court of Appeal for lack of diligent
prosecution (the dismissal judgment). As at the time of filing this
report, the Federal Government has no pending appeal against the
dismissal judgment at the Supreme Court, which is the final
appellate court in Nigeria.

“Independently, AMCON obtained the leave (permission) of the
Court of Appeal as an interested party in AMCON v. Bi-Courtney and
Attorney General of the Federation, to challenge the set-off
order.

“However, Bi-Courtney successfully challenged the leave at the
Supreme Court, in Bi-Courtney v. Attorney General of the Federation
and AMCON. On April 5, 2019, the Supreme Court delivered a judgment
in Bi-Courtney’s favour to the effect that the proceedings before
the Court of Appeal was incompetent (the Supreme Court
judgment).

“In effect, from April 5, 2019, there is no appeal against the
set-off order. It follows, therefore, that in consequence of the
set-off order and effective from April 5, 2012, Dr Babalakin,
Bi-Courtney and Roygate had a net judgment credit of approximately
N83 billion from the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“Notably, before the Supreme Court judgment, AMCON sued Resort,
claiming, amongst other reliefs, N20 billion. In a judgment
delivered on June 13, 2018, AMCON lost the case and was ordered to
pay substantial damages to Resort (the judgment of 5 June,
2018).

“Summarily, the court held that:

(i) Resort did not owe AMCON N20 billion;

(ii) On the transaction which supported AMCON’s suit, the
Federal Government of Nigeria owed Resort N55 billion at an
interest of 17.6 per cent per annum since December 3, 2015.

(iii) AMCON should pay N3 billon as damages to Resort. Indeed,
the Federal Government’s present total indebtedness is in excess of
N100 billion.”

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