ABUJA, Federal Republic of Nigeria. Justice Okon Abang of a Federal High Court, Lagos State, on Wednesday, ordered the Zamfara State government to pay a judgment sum of N3,159,017,940.71 to Ecobank Nigeria Limited being the outstanding indebtedness to the bank.
Justice Abang gave the order while delivering judgment in a suit filed by Ecobank Nigeria Limited against the Zamfara State government.
Other defendants in the suit are Zamfara state’s Attorney-General, Zamfara State Ministry of Finance, Accountant-General of the Federation, Attorney-General of the Federation and Central Bank of Nigeria.
Ecobank Plc, in a suit marked FHC/L/CS/872/2015, had dragged the state government before the court over a loan of N1.5 billion obtained from Oceanic International Bank in May, 2009.
The bank, in an affidavit in support of the suit deposed to by Oluwafunmilola Salami, a lawyer, averred that the state government, through the Ministry of Finance, had in the month of May, 2009, received an extended facility of N1.5 billion from the Oceanic International Bank Limited, now consolidated with Ecobank Nigeria Limited.
The deponent averred that the major security for the disbursement of the said loan facility was a conditional Irrevocable Standing Payment Order (ISPO) from the state government Valued Added Tax (VAT), domiciled with the First Bank Plc.
She added that the facility, however, suffered a setback when First Bank Plc reportedly stopped warehousing the state’s Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) and consequently declined further remittance for the payment of the indebtedness that arose from the subject facility.
The deponent also averred that due to the above, an agreement was reached to restructure the debt in November 2010, which the government honoured for a few months. She added that the government, till date, had not paid the money despite the fact that such had fallen due.
The deponent further averred that upon the restructure, all relevant council and House resolutions were obtained by the bank alongside another Irrevocable Standing Payment Orders on the main Federation Account Allocation Committee account domiciled with the then Intercontinental Bank Plc, now Access Bank Plc.
She added that despite the restructure and the documentations as security between the bank and the state government in respect of the loan, the state government failed to liquidate the indebtedness, leaving a huge sum outstanding.
Consequently, Ecobank Limited through its lawyer, Mr. Kunle Ogunba, approached the court for the following claims: judgment against the Zamfara State government, the state Attorney-General and Ministry of Finance, jointly and severally in the sum of N3,159,017,940.71, being the outstanding indebtedness and yet to be liquidated sum on the facility.
The plaintiff also claimed the sum of N50 million as the cost for the prosecution of the suit, and an order directing the fourth to seventh defendants to deduct the judgment sum and interest thereon from the money accruable to the state government from the Federation Account.
But Justice Abang, while granting all the plaintiff’s claims, only awarded the sum of N50,000 as the cost for prosecuting the suit against the first to third defendants.
Credit: NAN
