$9billion UK Judgment Debt: Ozekhome SAN Warns FG Against Treating Looming Threat With Impunity

Constitutional Lawyer and Human Rights Activist, Chief Mike
Ozekhome has advised the federal government not to treat the recent
British Court Order of seizure of Nigeria’s foreign assets to
satisfy a $9billion judgment debt with levity warning that the UK
is not Nigeria where court judgment orders are treated with disdain
and violated with utmost impunity.

Consequently, Ozekhome urged the federal government to
immediately hire experienced legal hands in the UK to stem this
impending disaster that will eclipse all Nigerians without
exception.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) gave the advice in a
statement entitled, ‘The Recent British Court Order of Seizure of
Nigeria’s Foreign Assets to Satisfy a $9billion Judgment Debt: The
Way Out’

It reads, “Recently, a British court ordered the seizure of
Nigeria’s foreign assets to satisfy a judgement debt.

“This sum is surely over N3.2 trillion naira.

“This is an order, which, if carried out, will simply cripple
Nigeria, whose entire 2019 budget for the whole country which was
signed into law only in June is N8.92 trillion only.

“The current foreign reserve of Nigeria is about a mere $47.62
billion, with China having the highest foreign reserves in the
world, to the tune of $3.6 trillion.

“This is distantly followed by Japan $1.323); Switzerland
($804.323 billion); Saudi Arabia ($487.259 billion), Taiwan,
Russia, India ($430.572 billion); Hong Kong, South Korea, Brazil,
Singapore, Thailand, Mexico, UK ($164.209 billion).

Also read: “The United States of America comes a very distant
18th in the world, with $125.725 billion in foreign reserves.

“The best option thus opens to the federal government to halt
the looming disaster of attaching her foreign assets to the tune of
$9 billion is to immediately appeal the judgement and ask the court
for a stay of execution.

“To allow execution of the judgement will plunge Nigeria’s
already battered, pilfered and mismanaged economy into irreversible
doldrums and recession of unimaginable proportions.

“No one should take Lai Mohammed serious when he boastfully
asserted that Nigeria will not surrender any of her foreign
assets.

“Really? Did I hear him say “surrender”?

“Lai easily and shockingly forgets that the UK is not Nigeria
where court judgement orders are treated with disdain, levity,
derision and violated with utmost impunity.

” The judgement creditors will not seek Nigeria’s permission to
go after her foreign assets.

“They will not politely ask Nigeria to “surrender” her assets.
No.

“They will simply use the available, tested and trusted legal
option of garnishee proceedings, attach and fife all available and
known Nigerian bank accounts, assets, monies, properties, etc,
wherever they find them in the UK and in any part of the world.

“It is not a matter given to puerile lachrymal effusion,
chest-beating, adventurous swashbuckling and grandstanding.

” It a matter of cold law and facts.

“Let the federal government hire experienced legal hands in the
UK immediately to stem this impending disaster that will eclipse
all of us, without exception.”

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