JUST IN: GTBank Reacts To Alleged Take Over Of Its Bank By Innoson Motors

The Management of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) has finally reacted to the alleged take over of its properties by Nigeria’s indigenous vehicle production company, Innoson Nigeria Limited.

MouthpieceNG recalls that on Friday, the news broke on the internet that a Federal High Court in Awka, Anambra State has granted Innoson Motors leave to take over the bank’s properties over an alleged N8.7bn debt.

Innoson had claimed that it obtained a writ of FiFa from a Federal High Court in Anambra against GTB to effect the judgment issued by a Federal High Court in Ibadan and upheld by the Supreme Court.

Mr Cornel Osigwe, Head of Corporate Communications of Innoson Nigeria Limited, made the claims in a statement issued on the company’s social media pages on Friday.

Writ of FiFa is a leave of court to execute a judgment obtained by a creditor in a legal action for debt or damages by levying same on the property of the debtor. Once obtained, the creditor has legal right to seize and take over any property belonging to the debtor they find sufficient to defray the sum owed them.

The judgement, obtained by MouthpieceNG, was for GTBank to pay the sum of N2.4bn to Innoson with 22 percent interest per annum.

However, MouthpieceNG gathered that instead of obeying the court order, GTB appealed the judgement at both the Appeal and Supreme Courts.

According to Innosson’s statement, the Supreme Court on February 27, 2019, dismissed the bank’s appeal and upheld the earlier decision of both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.

The judgment debt of N2.4bn, has an accrued interest of about N6,717,909,849.96 as at today – which results to about N8.7bn in total.

Reacting, however, the bank said that the alleged court order is a judgment against the account of the Nigerian Customs domiciled with GTBank, and not against GTBank as an entity.

The bank, therefore, called on the public to disregard the story.

“The attention of GTBank has been drawn to the purported enforcement of a Judgment of the Federal High Court, Ibadan at one of its branches in Anambra State.

“GTBank as a law-abiding corporate citizen is taking all necessary legal steps to address this situation and ensure that no illegal or fraudulent execution is carried out,” the statement read.