A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered that the United Kingdom (UK) subsidiary of Zenith Bank Plc be served with documents in relation to a suit filed by some aggrieved customers led by Granite and Marble Ltd, (GML), REPORTERS AT ALRGE reports.
GML and others are, in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1455/2021 accusing the defendants, led by Zenith Bank of engaging in forgery, illegal conversion of equity, illegal operations of bank account, economic sabotage and threat to life.
They are seeking damages, against Zenith Bank and other defendants, to the tune of N635billion.
On January 21, 2022, Justice Inyang Eden Ekwo, upon an ex-parte motion by plaintiffs’ lawyer, Sebastine Hon (SAN) ordered that processes in the case be served on Zenith Bank, UK through DHL, a courier firm.
Justice Ekwo then adjourned till March 8 for a hearing.
Listed as defendants in the case are Zenith Bank Plc, Zenith Bank – UK; First Investment Development Company (FIDC); Prudential Mortgage Bank (PMB); the Managing Director of Zenith Bank, Ebenezer Onyeagwu; the Managing Director of FIDC, Adebisi Adebutu; the Managing Director of PMB, Eyo Asuquo; the Deputy Managing Director Zenith Bank, Mrs Adaora Omeoji; Yewande Esan and others.
In the particulars of the suit, Zenith Bank is accused of diverting the sum of N1billion approved for GML by the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN and routed through Zenith Bank.
The plaintiffs also claimed that Zenith Bank and its officers allegedly connived with Adebutu, Asuquo, FIDC and PMB to illegally change signatories to GML accounts without the authorization of the actual signatory to the accounts.
FIDC and PMB are alleged to have forcefully taken over the operations of the quarry site of GML despite not paying for the shares of the company they had proposed to buy.
GML also claimed that Zenith Bank held unto its verified assets for four years as collateral without disbursing the N1billion Real Sector Support Funds (RSSF) approved for it by the CBN.
GML and its Directors, in the plaintiffs’ statement of claim, gave details of their ordeal in the hands of the defendants, which they claimed resulted in massive revenue losses, arrest of members of their families, denial of access to their business premises and transferring their accounts to persons not properly and legally authorized to do so.
GML further claimed that sometime in 2016, it’s Managing Director was on President Muhammadu Buhari’s delegation, as a representative of the mining sector, on the President’s first trade visit in China.
It added that while on the trip, the President signed an agreement with SBM China Ltd, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of mining equipment, to establish the biggest mining processing plant in Africa to be located in Abuja.
According to the company, it was on the strength of the agreement that they approached and got approval for a N1billion facility from the Real Sector Support Fund (RSSF) operated by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The plaintiffs claimed that not only did Zenith Bank refuse to release the funds which were GML’s counterpart commitment, it frustratingly held on to the company’s assets and wrote several approvals and offer letters without disbursements.
Zenith Bank was alleged to have, at a point claimed, in a letter, that the funds will be disbursed by their UK subsidiary, Zenith UK Ltd.
The refusal by Zenith to release the funds was said to have jeopardized the agreement signed in China to reduce the cost of construction.
The plaintiffs stated that Messrs Eyo Asuquo, FIDC and PMB approached GML to purchase shares in the company (GML) valued at an agreed combined sum of N700million.
They claimed that despite not paying for the shares, the defendants illegally tampered with the company’s documents at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and introduced names of themselves and substituted the names of other directors and the Company Secretary based on forged board resolutions.
The plaintiffs stated that with the altered documents, they connived with Zenith Bank to change the signatory to the account.
Adebutu and his team were equally accused of forcefully taking over the sites of the company and conspired with Zenith Bank to draw down from the RSSF facility using the instrumentality of a forged deed of debenture.
They also claimed that while the quarry site was taken over by the purported new owners, illegal trade in unlicensed explosives were carried out thereby endangering residents of the neighbourhood.
The plaintiffs further averred that evidence of illegal trade in explosives by the defendants are before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
GML and others are claiming N635billion or $1.2billion from the defendants as compensation for the trauma experienced by the families, the cancellation of the contract allegedly occasioned by the activities of Zenith Bank and the loss of revenues said to have been caused by the illegal take over of the company.
Hello nationalinsightnews.com admin, Good job!