Lagos Lawyer Petitions IG over Alleged Illegal Sale of Client’s N20bn Assets

Precious Ugwuzor

A Lagos-based legal practitioner, Chief Aloysius E. Ezenduka, has called on the Inspector General of Police (IG), Kayode Egbetokun, to investigate the alleged sale of his client’s company assets worth N20 billion by Mr. Emmanuel Adeyeye Oyebanji, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who was appointed as Receiver/Manager by CSL Trustees Limited on behalf of First City Monument Bank, following a N350 million loan dispute.

In a petition dated January 7, 2024, Ezenduka told the police boss to intervene and investigate “a case of criminal conversion, stealing, and selling of the asset worth over N20 billion” belonging to his clients, Chief Anthony Obidulu and his company, Algrain Foods Limited ,located at No 15 – 17, Canal Avenue, Canal Estate, Okota, Lagos.

“Chief Obidulu is the managing director of Algrain Foods Limited, manufacturer of pasta and noodles.”

The petitioner said the actions of the SAN and FCMB were reprehensible as four court cases -two at the Appeal Court in Lagos (CA/L/CV/1021/2021 and CA/L/CV/1024/2021) and two at the High Court of Lagos State – are pending and trial ongoing.

The two cases at the High Court of Lagos State were instituted by Chief Obidulu against Emmanuel Adeyeye Oyebanji and First City Monument Bank Plc; and Emmanuel Adeyeye Oyebanji and First Bank Limited for trespassing into his property.

He noted that despite these cases pending in court and undecided, Oyebanji in connivance with the managing director, First City Monument Bank Plc has been discretely selling all the asset comprising vehicles, heavy machineries and goods kept in the warehouse worth billions of naira over a purported judgment on appeal that claimed that FCMB was owed the paltry sum of N350 million, which audit report has shown that the company is not indebted to the bank or anyone.”

According to the petitioner, “The Court of Appeal on 10 October, 2023, allowed the petitioner to bring in document that showed that the purported loan in respect of which Adeyeye and FCMB procured court order is indeed a Federal Government Small and Medium Enterprises Credit Guarantee Scheme (SMECGS), which is guaranteed 80 per cent by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which FCMB has never redeemed before procuring court order with fraudulent documents.”

Worried by the actions of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria and FCMB, Ezenduka appealed to the IG to, among other things, “investigate these acts of forgery, alteration, procurement and concealment of documents for the purpose of obtaining an order of court illegally; conversion, stealing, selling of goods belonging to Chief Obidulu and Algrain Foods Limited by Emmanuel Adeyeye, Oyebanji (SAN), and FCMB. Investigate the refusal of Oyebanji to render account of the purported receivership to the Corporate Affairs Commission and the Board of Directors of Algrain Foods Limited as required by law. Investigate the purported sales, conversion and diversion of proceeds of the purported sales of the assets by Oyebanji and the managing director of FCMB.

“Recover all the assets stolen and or purportedly sold by Oyebanji and FCMB into safe custody pending when the rights of the parties are determined by the courts.

“Prosecute the duo if upon completion of the investigation a prima face case is established against them and investigate the mobile policemen which Oyebanji and FCMB procured to aid them in the evacuation of property at odd hours since December last year when the Court of Appeal gave a favourable ruling in favour of Obidulu and his company in Appeal No. CA/L/CV/1021/2021.”