Court restrains company over alleged N213.1m debt

Justice Mohammed Liman of the Federal High Court, Lagos has restraineda firm, Cross Country Limited from operating or tampering with its accounts in any financial institution in the country.

The judge also restrained the firm from alienating or tampering with its fixed and movable assets pending the determination of the motion.

Justice Liman ordered the company to yield possession of the 40 buses in its custody to the court’s Deputy Chief Registrar “for the purposes of paying their daily intake, income and accruals into an interest yielding account with Access Bank or any other designated banks.”

The orders are to subsist pending the determination of a motion filed by a company, AG Moeller Limited, seeking the appointment of a provisional liquidator over Cross Country’s assets in view of its alleged refusal to repay a N213.1 million debt.

The judge ordered the plaintiff to file an undertaking as to damages in the event that the orders ought not to have been made.

The plaintiff, who claimed that Cross Country owed it N213, 142, 447. 88 stated, in a supporting affidavit that by an offer letter dated March 29, 2007, it availed a lease facility of N140 million to the defendant company to finance the acquisition of 40 units of Volkswagen Transporter Mini buses on terms and conditions which were duly accepted by the defendant.

AG Moeller averred that the funds were extended to the defendant after a discussion it had with the Chairman of the defendant, Bube Okorodudu.

It stated that at the expiration of the tenure of the facility, it wrote several demand letters to the defendant but that apart from blatantly breaching the terms and conditions of the facility, the defendant had refused to liquidate its indebtedness.

The plaintiff wants the court to wind up Cross country’s affairs in accordance with Sections 409 (1) and 410 (1) (b) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 1990.

The defendant has filed a motion asking the court to set aside the orders on the grounds that they were secured without its knowledge.

Cross Country contended that the applicant was not licensed by the Central Bank Nigeria (CBN) to carry on the business of loan financing or money lending.

It further argued that the plaintiff lied to the court in obtaining the said orders as it allegedly concealed material facts at the point the orders were secured.