Ecobank has urged First Bank Holdings to reject the acquisition of 4.7 billion shares by a former Chairman of the bank, Dr Oba Otudeko.
The bank raised the alarm in a letter written by its Legal Counsel, Kunle Ogunba & Associates, in which it stated that the business magnate, through his affiliated entities, owed the bank N13.5bn.
The letter, dated July 7 and signed by the Principal Partner of the law firm, Oludare Amusan, said the bank had instituted several lawsuits against Honey Group Limited, Siloam Global Services Limited, Anchorage Leisures Limited, Honeywell flour Mills PIc and Dr Oba Otudeko at the Federal High Court, Lagos.
According to the letter made available to The PUNCH, the legal tussle between Otudeko and the bank was in view of recouping the debts owed by the highlighted business entities.
The letter said Otudeko personally guaranteed the loan leading to the indebtedness of the prior-mentioned companies.
The letter read in part, “Whereas, the prior-mentioned entities had initially disputed their indebtedness to our client and had consequently filed an action in court to that effect, the Supreme Court on the 27th day of January, 2023 in Appeal No. SC/CV/210/2021 delivered Judgment (Certified true copy of which is herein attached) affirming the indebtedness of the above persons to our client and further commanded that they must pay all the outstanding debts that have accrued under the loan contract between the parties; the same debt personally guaranteed by Dr Oba Otudeko, which said indebted stood in the sum of N13,507,052,417.99.”
The bank, through its lawyers, alleged that instead of taking urgent steps to repay their indebtedness in line with the mandate of the supreme court, it had come to its notice that Otudeko, who had personally guaranteed to pay the said debt, had taken steps to divert his assets/funds using a company known as Barbican Capital Limited as a special purpose vehicle.
The letter read, “We state that the said Dr Oba Otudeko has via the said Barbican Capital Limited allegedly purchased 4,770, 269, 843, (Four billion, Seven hundred and seventy million, two hundred and sixty-nine thousand, eight hundred and forty-three) shares of FBN Holdings Plc.”
The letter said the bank had been informed that the said shares were purchased via 19 business entities and were currently being held by 10 different companies.