By PETERS On Dec 12, 2021

The Federal High Court has adopted the terms of settlement by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and a former officer of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Dr. Kamoru Bolaji Yusuf, over an alleged N177million debt.

AMCON had sued Yusuf over an alleged debt resulting from a N50million loan facility he obtained from the Intercontinental Bank Plc in 2008 to buy the bank’s shares.

It, among others, claimed that Yusuf owed about N176,586!487.86 and accrued interest as at 2018, a claim the retired Customs officer denied, blaming the alleged debt on the negligence of the bank’s officials.

Yusuf, in his statement of defence and counter-claim, argued that the said loan was meant to buy Intercontinental Bank’s shares, which the bank, in line with the loan agreement, was required to sell “once the value of the share purchased and shares pledged drops by 15 percent.”

He added that since the loan was not disbursed to him, but applied to the purchase of shares, the failure of the bank to sell the purchased shares to recover its loan when the need arose, amounted to negligence on its part.

At a point, parties agreed to settle out of court and later reduced their agreement to terms of settlement, by which Yusuf was required to pay N55,381,518.86 “in full and final settlement of his indebtedness to the claimant (AMCON)”.

Justice Saliu Saidu of the Federal High Court, Lagos later adopted the terms of settlement as the court’s judgment in the suit marked: FHC/L/CS/787/2018.

Part of the judgment, sighted in Abuja on Sunday, reads: “Consequent upon the terms of settlement duly executed by the parties and filed at the Registry of this honourable court, the said terms of settlement is entered as consent judgment by parties.

“The terms are as follows:

*Defendant shall pay the claimant the sum of N55,381,518,86 in full and final settlement of his indebtedness to the claimant.

*Payments till date: N26,381,518.86 being the value of shares applied in 2010.

*Balance to be paid: N29,000,000.00 (already paid).”