Court Adjourns N2.6bn Case Against NDIC Over Illegal Sale Of Shares

Makurdi – The Federal High Court in Makurdi, under the leadership of Justice Rafael Egbe, has scheduled the next hearing for May 5th in a N2.6 billion lawsuit filed by the Benue State Investment and Property Company (BIPC) against the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC). This suit centers around the alleged illegal sale of shares by NDIC.

The legal battle dates back to 2011, when BIPC initiated a case against NDIC and the now-defunct All States Trust Bank. The case was temporarily halted when NDIC sought an out-of-court settlement. However, after both parties had attempted to resolve the matter through the Arbitration Panel in Abuja with no success, NDIC withdrew from the settlement talks, opting to resume the case in court.

Court Testimony and Documents Presented

Douglas Pepe, SAN, who represents BIPC, called Paul Agu, the former MD/CEO of BIPC, to testify on the company’s behalf. Agu explained that BIPC had applied for a N550 million loan from the Federal Mortgage Bank. As part of the loan agreement, BIPC pledged some of its shares as collateral.

However, Agu revealed that the bank failed to fulfill its contractual obligations, resulting in the deduction of charges from BIPC’s account. Moreover, the bank did not complete the necessary process for opening the letter of credit required for the loan facility.

In support of BIPC’s claims, Pepe presented 32 documents, highlighting the significant impact of the bank’s failure to honor the agreement.

Request for Compensation

BIPC’s legal team urged the court to order NDIC to pay N2.6 billion as compensation for lost income resulting from BIPC’s inability to trade with the shares pledged as collateral. These shares, which had been with NDIC since 2002, were valued at over N740 million in 2007. By 2007, the shares had appreciated to more than N5.5 billion, according to the plaintiff.

Additionally, BIPC is seeking compensation for N99.5 million in proceeds from the illegal sale of shares and N62.8 million for lost dividends and bonuses over the years.

Case Continued

The defense team, led by Aondover Iorngee, requested a future date to present their case. The legal proceedings will continue in May.