Court Okays Process To ‘Jail’ AMCON MD Over NICON Assets

An Abuja Federal High Court has ordered that Ahmed Lawal, the Managing Director of the Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON), be committed for allegedly seizing the assets of NICON Insurance Ltd.

On Friday, the court granted Jimoh Ibrahim and three of his companies permission to file committal procedures against three senior executives of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) for allegedly violating the court’s previous orders.

The Managing Director, Lawal, and two Executive Directors, Eberechukwu Uneze and Aminu Ismail, are the key officers who have been affected.

The applicant was entitled to leave to initiate committal proceedings against the alleged contemnors, according to Justice Okon Abang, who delivered the ruling. Ibrahim and his companies had claimed that AMCON and other defendants in a suit pending before the court had flouted orders previously made.

In response to Ibrahim and his three companies’ ex-parte motion, Justice Abang ordered that Form 48 (notice of consequences of disobedience to court order) and Form 49 (notice to show cause why an order for committal to prison should not be made pursuant to Section 72 of the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act and Order 9 Rule 13 of the Judgments Enforcement Rules) be issued and served on the three named principal officers of AMCON.

The judge issued the orders after hearing from Victor Ogbonna, the lawyer for Ibrahim and his three companies, who claimed that despite giving undertakings to obey court orders in the pending suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/760/2021 filed by his clients, AMCON disobeyed the orders by taking actions that could jeopardize the case’s subject.

NICON Investment Limited, NICON Insurance Limited, and NICON Reinsurance Corporation Plc are the firms suing Ibrahim.

A copy of the enrolled order of the ruling, sighted in Abuja on Friday reads: “The court having considered the allegations that the 1st to 12th defendants (in the pending suit – FHC/ABJ/CS/760/2021) have flouted the undertakings freely, voluntarily given by their counsel on 16/8/2021 that the defendants will not take steps to undermine the subject matter of the plaintiffs’ suit and the said undertakings reaffirmed by their counsel in court in the proceedings of 9/3/2022.

“The court having also considered that, based on the said undertakings freely given by the defendants’ counsel and binding on the defendants, this court on 16/8/2021 made an order restraining the defendants from taking steps to flout order made in the plaintiffs favour pending hearing and determination of the suit.

“The having considered that the said undertaking was made by consent of the defendants and is not appealable except with leave of court.

“The court having also considered that it is alleged that the defendants violated the court’s order and the alleged violations are as mentioned in the body of the ruling delivered in the open court today the 11th of March, 2022.

“The court having considered that it is legally impossible to cite AMCON, as an institution, for contempt where it is alleged that it has flouted court’s order, that it is the natural persons, the principal officers, the prime movers, the alter ego, the directing minds that take decisions for AMCON.

“And the court having considered, where AMCON is alleged to have flouted court’s order, it is the natural persons that take decisions for it that should be cited for contempt.

“The court having considered that, in exercise of its disciplinary jurisdiction under its inherent powers as preserved under Section 6(6)A&B of 1999 Constitution (as amended), it is deserving to grant leave to enable the Plaintiffs commence committal proceedings against the principal officers of AMCON that take decisions for AMCON, as the court cannot grant an order in vain and a subsisting order of court is uncompromising binding on parties and must be obeyed unless set aside.

“And the having delivered its ruling in the open court and its reasoning and conclusions are as contained in the body of the ruling.

“It is hereby ordered as follows:

*That leave is hereby granted to the plaintiffs to commence committal proceedings by issuance of Forms 48 and 49 and same served on Ahmed Lawal Kure (Managing Director/CEO, AMCON), Eberechukwu Uneze (Executive Director AMCON) and Aminu Ismail (Executive Director AMCON) being natural persons, prime movers, alter ego, directing minds, principal officers of AMCON that allegedly flouted the subsisting order of court made on 16/8/2021 re-stated on 9/3/2022 predicated on the subsisting undertakings made by the defendants’ counsel given freely on 16/8/2021 that the defendants will not take steps to favour of the plaintiffs herein or undermine the subject matter of the suit pending hearing and determination of the plaintiffs’ suit.

*That the plaintiffs shall endorse Form 48 on the enrolled order of this court dated 9/3/2022 and same served on persons mentioned in item 1 of the instant enrolled order.

*That the plaintiffs shall as of right issue Forms 48 and 49 and same endorsed on the enrolled order of this court dated 9/3/2022 and served on the 3rd to 12th defendants.”