A Federal High Court in Lagos has adjourned till September 30, 2015 to decide on a suit filed by Ecobank Nigeria Limited to recover an alleged debt of N3.2bn from the government of Zamfara State.

Justice Okon Abang fixed the date on Friday after taking all pending applications and arguments from the parties.

The bank, which claimed that the state had been owing it the said money since 2009, had urged the court to transfer the case onto the undefended list.

It argued that Zamfara State had no reasonable defence to the suit, hence the prayer to transfer it to the undefended list.

But the defence had filed preliminary objection, challenging the jurisdiction of the court to adjudicate on the matter.

In a motion ex parte filed pursuant to Order 12 Rules 1 and 2 and Order 26 Rule 26 Rule 3 of the court’s rules, the bank, through its lawyer, Mr. Kunle Ogunba (SAN), however said it was convinced that “there is no sustainable defence or any defence at all on the part of the defendants to the suit of the plaintiff.”

In a 29-paragraph affidavit filed in support of the application and deposed to by one Oluwafunmilola Salami, the bank claimed that the refusal of Zamfara State to pay the alleged debt “is injurious to the plaintiff in its business as a custodian of third party’s funds.”

According to the deponent, the state had in May 2009 obtained a loan of N1.5bn from the defunct Ocean Bank Plc, which was later consolidated with Ecobank.

Salami added, “I am perfectly aware of the fact that the major security for the disbursement of the said loan facility was the Irrevocable Standing Payment Order from the state government’s VAT account domiciled then with the First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Gusau branch.

“The facility however suffered a setback when First Bank of Nigeria Limited stopped the warehousing of the state Federation Account Allocation Committee and consequently declined further remittance for the payment of the indebtedness that arose from the subject
facility.”

Earlier on Thursday when the matter came up, the trial judge, Justice Okon Abang, noted that the defendants had filed preliminary objection contrary to the provisions of Order 12 under which the plaintiff filed the suit, asking for transfer to the undefended list.

Source: http://www.punchng.com/feature/the-law-you/n3-2bn-debt-court-decides-banks-case-against-zamfara/

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