Unpaid N93m Debt: Court Grants Request to Take over Firm’s Asset
Wale Igbintade
A Federal High Court in Lagos has granted an order directing a financial institution, FundQuest Financial Services Limited, to foreclose and sell a property located at 42 Adeoye Adeyemi Street, Peace Estate, Maryland, belonging to NF Branding Nigeria Limited, over unpaid debt amounting to N93,071,739.7.
Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa made the order while delivering judgment in a suit marked: FHC/L/CS/2220/2022 filed by FundQuest Financial Services Limited against NF Branding Nigeria Limited, Olufela Joseph Seton, and Oduola Oladele.
The plaintiff, NF Branding Nigeria Limited, had approached the court through its lawyer, Mr. Adetunji Adedoyin-Adeniyi, seeking a declaration that the defendant’s failure to comply with the terms of the offer letters dated May 14, 2021, and July 8, 2021, between the plaintiff and the first defendant, vis-à-vis, the failure of the first defendant to liquidate the loan facility, as agreed in the said offer letters constitute a breach of the contract validly entered between the plaintiff and the first defendant.
The plaintiff is also praying for a “declaration that the second and third defendants’ failure to comply with the terms of the Guarantee and Indemnity bonds dated May 17, 2021, and June 8, 2021, executed by each of them in favour of the plaintiff by liquidating the first defendant’s indebtedness despite express demand for same, is a breach of the contract validly entered and consummated between the plaintiff and the second and third defendants respectively”.
Consequently, the plaintiff prayed the court for an order mandating, compelling, and directing the defendants to immediately liquidate their outstanding indebtedness to the plaintiff, in the total sum of N93,071,739.07 million, as on March 21, 2022, by the Working Capital Facility offered to the first defendant and Personally Guaranteed by the 2nd & 3rd defendants vide the plaintiff’s offer letters dated May 14, 2021, and of July 8, 2021, at a contractual interest rate of 3.00 per cent flat per month.
However, during the pendency of the suit, the defendants failed and refused to file any counter to the suit despite being served with all processes and Mareva Injunction earlier granted by the court.
Delivering judgment, Justice Lewis-Allagoa, held that despite service of the originating processes on the defendants, they failed to file a counter affidavit or respond to the claims.
The court stated that the law is trite that where an affidavit is filed to ascertain facts and the other party failed or neglected to file any counter affidavit to controvert or challenge the averment in the affidavit, those averments in the affidavit which are unchallenged are deemed to have been admitted by the other party and the court is bound to act on it.
“I have examined the originating processes filed pursuant to this application, including all the exhibits attached to the affidavit, and I note particularly that the defendants, despite service upon them of the originating processes in this matter, have either neglected or failed to file any counter affidavit and the law is trite that where an affidavit is filed ascertain to facts therein contained and other party has failed or neglected to file any counter affidavit with a view of controverting or challenging the averment in the affidavit, those averments in the affidavit which are unchallenged and deemed to have been admitted by the other party and the court is bound to act on it.
“Consequently, I also have no reason to question the argument of counsel pursuant to those averments in the affidavit, the originating summons has merit, and all the prayers therein are hereby granted as prayed,’’ Justice Lewis-Allagoa held.
