Onyeador vs NDIC: Court fixes April 29 for judgement

By Innocent Anaba

Onyeador

Judgement in the suit by Lagos socialite, Ms. Angela Onyeador and her Company, Enta Associates Limited against the Senate and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC, challenging the inclusion of her name on the list of debtors of the failed banks before a  Federal High Court in Lagos has been fixed for April 29.

Trial judge in the matter, Justice Mohammed Idris, adjourned for judgement, after parties argued and adopted their written addresses.

Onyeador, is claiming N1.5 billion against the defendants as exemplary and aggravated damages, contending  that she had paid her debt and that the Senate made a serious blunder by including her name on the list of debtors to the failed banks.

Other defendants in the suit are the Senate President, David Mark, Chairman of Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, Nkechi Nwaogu, Chairman of Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Anti-corruption, Sola Akinyede and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

It will be recalled that the Senate on July 7, 2009 adopted the report of its Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions and proceeded to make public the names of some alleged debtors to the nation’s failed banks including the plaintiffs, while the plaintiffs were said to have secured a credit facility from the defunct Assurance Bank and Onyeador was said to have used the title documents of her two properties in Abuja as security for the loan.

The plaintiffs, Mr Onyebuchi Aniakor, had argued that when the operating license of Assurance Bank was revoked by the  CBN  for failing to meet the N25 billion minimum capital base for banks in the country, his clients proceeded to the NDIC and repaid the facility, adding that the title documents used as security for the facility were later released back to his clients sometimes in June, 2008.

He further argued that they were shocked that their names made the list of debtors despite the fact that they had paid their debts since 2008, adding that the Senate and the NDIC refused to retract and tender apology for wrongfully publishing their names among the bank debtors despite application for them to do so.

They are praying the court to hold that the inclusion of their names on the list of debtors despite liquidating the debts, amount to grievous violation of their fundamental human rights as enshrined in Section 36 (1) of the Constitution.

They also want the court to quash the report of the Senate Committee and the resolution of the Senate as it concerns them and as well compel the defendants to make a written apology to them in at least five national dailies, and an injunction restraining the defendants from taking any steps or actions in respect of the report as it concerns the plaintiffs.

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