AMCON Seizes G. Cappa Property Over Unpaid N1.2 Billion Debt

The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has taken over a property located at 8 Taylor Road in Ebute Metta, Lagos and owned by G. Cappa, a Nigerian construction company. The seizure of the property arose from the construction company’s alleged failure to pay a debt of more than N1.2 billion.Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos, the capital of Lagos State, approved AMCON’s seizure of the construction company’s landed property pending the hearing and determination of a substantive debt recovery suit filed by AMCON.
Justice Aneke, who restrained G. Cappa from dealing with the property in any form, also ordered that accounts maintained by the company in any bank or financial institution in Nigeria should be frozen.
An affidavit by Victor Igabor of AMCON’s Credit Directorate stated that, sometime between April 28, 2000 and March 2002, G. Cappa applied for and was granted a loan of N880 million by United Bank for Africa.
]Chuks Okeugiri, the lawyer representing AMCON, stated that the construction company secured the loan with the property situated in Ebute Metta.
AMCON later purchased the loan from UBA.
The lawyer disclosed that G. Cappa failed and neglected to liquidate its indebtedness, leaving an outstanding balance of more than N1.2 billion.
AMCON stated that the debtor had not responded to several appeals to pay or restructure the loan, hence its decision to retain Mr. Okeugiri to file legal action to recover the debt.
AMCOM is claiming the sum of N1,207, 296,646.45 from G. Cappa, with interest at the rate of 21 percent from June 4, 2014 until judgment is delivered and thereafter. The corporation is also seeking a 10 percent penalty on the loan until final liquidation of the judgment sum.
Defense lawyer, Taiwo Taiwo, who appeared for Cappa, denied that the company had failed to liquidate its indebtedness to UBA. He claimed that there was a disagreement over the exact the amount of the company’s indebtedness to UBA, adding that the discrepancy explained the reason the company had not offset its debt.
He described the sum being claimed by AMCON not only as outrageous but also bogus, frivolous and baseless.
AMCOM has filed an application urging the court to enter judgment against the company in line with the corporation’s claim.
Justice Aneke adjourned the hearing of the substantive suit till October 6, 2015.