GTBank, Access Bank in court over loans to Otedola

Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) and Access Bank are in dispute over a Deed of All Assets Debenture purportedly used by the Chairman, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited, Femi Otedola, in securing multi-billion naira loans from both banks.

GTBank, in a suit before a Federal High Court in Lagos, against Access Bank, Ajibola Aribisala (SAN), Zenon and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), is challenging Access Bank’s appointment of Aribisala as a receiver/manager over Zenon’s assets.

The suit is one of three suits involving both banks before the court. The second suit was filed by Aribisala against Zenon and Otedola, while the third filed by Zenon has Access and Aribisala as defendants.

Last week, Mr Oladipo Okpeseyi (SAN), representing Access and Aribisala, pleaded for adjournment on the ground that he was just contracted to handle the case. He said he required time to study the file.

He said on studying the case file, he discovered that Access and Aribasala filed a motion seeking the transfer of the case to the court’s Chief Judge for re-assignment to another judge.

He added that GTBank also filed a motion seeking an injunction to restrain Aribisala from acting as receiver/manager over Zenon’s assets. Okpeseyi said these developments informed his request for more time.

Lawyers to GTBank and Zenob, Kemi Balogun and Babajide Koku (SAN) opposed Okpeseyi’s request for times. They insisted that Okpeseyi apologise to the court for alleged disrespect to the court purportedly exhibited by Aribisala.

Justice Okeke turned down both lawyers’ request. He said it was better for Okpeseyi to be accorded time to study the file since he was just entering the case.

“I knew what to do when Chief Aribisala did all he did. But when I took up this job, I promised myself that no lawyer will go to jail for contemptuous act against me. I’m still an active member of the Onitsha Bar branch. I still pay my dues and attend their functions. So I can’t go against my constituency,” the judge said and adjourned the cases to April 20.

In a supporting affidavit to GTBank’s suit, a principal legal officer in the bank, Soga Adewale, stated that in May 2004, his bank granted a $13 million trade facility to Zenon for the importation and local purchase of diesel (A.G.O.).

He averred that in February 2005, the facility was increased to $48 million, then to $50 million and to $70 million in 2006 to accommodate the growth in Zenon’s business.

Adewale stated that the facilities were secured by a Deed of All Assets Debenture on the fixed and floating present and future assets of Zenon and other choice properties in Lagos.

He stated that Zenon also executed a Deed of All Assets Debenture dated April 18, 2006 in favour of GTBank and that the same was registered with the CAC on May 12, 2006, with an agreement that “Zenon shall not create any further charge on its assets without GTBank’s prior written consent sought and obtained.”

Adewale averred that his employer was shocked when it conducted a search on Zenon’s file at CAC on March 7, 2011, and discovered that a further charge had been created on the same assets by Zenon in 2009 in favour of Access without GTBank’s consent and approval.

Source : The Nation