By Nse Anthony-Uko
ABUJA, (Sundiata Post) – Federal High Court Lagos Division has granted an injunction against Mustasons Guest House Limited on Ajose Adeogun Street in Victoria Island, Lagos on the application of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).
Presided over by Justice Babs Kuewumi, the court also restrained Alhaji Mustapha Aliyu Wushishi, the promoter of Mustasons Guest House Limited from the assets and properties of the guest house and another property situate at Plot 1111B, Amichi Close, Victoria Island, Lagos. Alhaji Wushishi and Mustasons Guest House Limited have been in court with AMCON over huge indebtedness of nearly half a billion naira.
Justice Kuewumi, the presiding judge while granting the order on the application of Mr. Idowu Ibrahim, counsel to AMCON, restrained Mustasons Guest House Limited and Alhaji Wushishi, their directors, staff, management, employers, agents, officers, privies or any other person or group of persons whatsoever under the respondents’ authority or any other authority (however derived or sourced) from tampering with, selling, leasing, removing from the jurisdiction of the court or dealing in whatsoever manner with the respondents’ assets/properties situate at Mustasons Guest House Plot 91, Ajose Adeogun Street, Victoria Island Lagos and Plot 1111B, Amichi Close, Victoria Island respectively owned by the respondents.
The court therefore granted AMCON (claimant/applicant) the powers to take possession of the assets/properties of Mustasons Guest House Limited and Alhaji Wushishi as listed in the order paper. Justice Kuewumi also ordered the freezing of all the identifiable and/or traceable accounts of the respondents either current, savings, fixed deposit, domiciliary, howsoever tagged with various banks and financial institutions both in Nigeria and abroad and a consequential order, mandating all the banks and financial institutions to furnish AMCON (through its solicitors) details of the respondent’s accounts domiciled with them within seven days of the service of the court order.
Confirming that AMCON had taken over the assets/properties since Tuesday March 7, 2017, Jude Nwauzor, Head, Corporate Communications, AMCON said, “The debt is long overdue and before we got to this stage we had patiently tried to resolve the matter without going to court; but as you can see all efforts by the Corporation to get the obligor to repay the indebtedness have proved abortive. Therefore having exhausted all avenues of peaceful resolution, there was no other option available to us than to commence enforcement action against Mustasons Guest House Limited and its promoter as provided under Section 49-52 of the AMCON Act.”
Earlier in the year, Mr. Ahmed Kuru, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, reiterated the fact that the Corporation would continue to sustain its tempo of recoveries, which began last year by strategically focusing on value enhanced exits of its portfolios, which encompasses continued negotiations and resolution of loans through cash recoveries, asset forfeitures through negotiation or enforcement; capital restructuring for short to mid-term exits as well as joint venture arrangements for asset operations and land development.
As the second largest land and real estate property owner in Nigeria, he said AMCON was exploring the creation of a robust Real Estate Investment Trust Scheme (REITS) that would provide market driven exit for AMCON’s real estate assets as well as additional capital market instruments for institutional investors such as the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) and other interested parties.
