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Benue IPC drags NDIC to Court, claims N8.6 billion damages over unauthorized sales of shares
The Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC has ran into trouble as the Benue State owned Company, Benue Investment and Property Company, BIPC has dragged it to court, claiming damages of N8.6 billion for illegal sales of shares belong to NIPC>
CAPITAL POST learnt that the case has since been lodged at the Federal High Court Makurdi since, 2011, but the NDIC had sought for out of Court settlement which did not succeed before they proceeded to the Court of Arbitration..
The liquidated All Trust Bank was listed as co-defendant in NDIC’s illegal sales of shares.
It was further learnt that the NDIC resolve not to continue with the arbitration and prefer to go to the conventional Court and when the case came up for hearing, Counsel to the plaintiff, Douglas Pepe SAN called one of their chief witness, Mr Paul Agu, a former staff and MD/CEO of the company.
Agu told the court that the plaintiff applied for a loan facility of N550m from the Federal Mortgage Bank and pledged some of her shares to All States Bank (in -liquidation) for the Bank to guarantee the loan.
He explained that the money was to come through the liquidated bank adding that the bank was to take her commission and stand as their guarantor before the mortgage bank.
He said the bank failed to meet her contractual agreements with the plaintiff yet started deducted charges from their account.
He said the bank also failed to complete the process of opening the letter of credit as required in such case.
Pepe through his star witness tendered 32 documents to support their position.
Among the documents tendered were bank statement of the plaintiff in All States Bank (in -liquidation) between August 1, 2002 and December 31, 2003.
He also tendered details of transfers of shares sold by the respondents and closed their case.
However, the respondents presented by Aondover Iorngee after cross examination requested for date for defence.
Our correspondent reports that the plaintiff had dragged the respondents before the Federal High Court in Makurdi over breach of contract agreement and sell of shares.
The plaintiff in the suit avered that they applied for a loan facility of N550m from the Federal Mortgage Bank and pledged some of her shares to All States Bank (in -liquidation) for the Bank to guarantee the loan.
The plaintiff further avered that the respondents who did not fulfilled her part of the contract agreements, charged them arbitrary and sold their shares placed in their custody as collateral.
They, therefore, urged the court to order the respondents to pay N2. 6bn as lost income for her inability to trade with stocks which were pledged as collateral and has been with them since 2002.
They should also pay the shares which in 2007 were valued at over 740m at the time of transaction and appreciating to over N5.5bn in 2007.
They should also pay N99.5m being proceeds of the shares illegally sold and N62.8m being valued of lost dividends and bonuses over the period.
The plaintiff therefore, asked the court to order the respondents to pay N2bn as general damages.
The presiding judge, Justice Rafael Egbe further adjourned the case to May 5, 2025, for defence.
