Alex Enumah in Abuja
The Court of Appeal has declared its support for the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in its debt recovery drive as well as resolution of troubled assets.
The President of the court, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, who made the declaration, assured the corporation that necessary measures would be put in place to eliminate any legal technicalities frustrating AMCON’s cases at the appellate court.
To this end, the Court of Appeal president disclosed that a special taskforce that will give expeditious hearing to all appeals relating to AMCON would soon be constituted.
Bulkachuwa gave the assurance over the weekend, while declaring open a one day seminar for Justices of the Court of Appeal on the newly amended AMCON Act 2019.
The seminar was sponsored by AMCON in conjunction with the Legal Academy.
“My Lords, it is compelling to remind you that AMCON has a sunset date. This time constraint has made it necessary for AMCON to migrate to the enforcement gear. To accomplish its target as it approaches the sunset date, AMCON must be more proactive and ingenious in its approach towards the sooner realisation of its objectives.
“It is therefore beyond doubt that for AMCON to succeed, the support of the judiciary is decisive as the distinguished judiciary is the last hope of AMCON,” she said.
The Court of Appeal president, who stated that the court has always supported AMCON within the bounds of the law and will continue to do so, urged the corporation to commence a comprehensive compilation of its nascent jurisprudence so that it will be accessible to all.
Bulkachuwa however enjoined the Court of Appeal justices to effectively and passionately participate in the interaction, adding that their robust participation will broaden their familiarity with the new AMCON Act, “thereby engendering harmony in the implementation of the instrument based on the well informed rationalisations that will underscore our decisions”.
The amended AMCON Act 2019, among others, makes it mandatory for the appellate court to decide an appeal relating to the corporation within 60 days.
The new Act also mandates heads of courts to designate courts that will consider only AMCON matters; prescribe AMCON exclusive practice directions as well as ordering judgment debtors who decide to appeal the decision of the lower court to deposit the judgment sum before the appeal can be considered by the Court of Appeal.
Also, the new law makes it an offence punishable by fine or imprisonment or both for any bank who refuses to give details of a debtor to AMCON.
The objective of the new law is to ensure that AMCON’S efforts towards speedy resolution of troubled assets within its sunset date is accomplished.
According to the Director General, Legal Academy, Dr Fatihu Abba, AMCON has an exposure to recover in excess of N5 trillion and unless something drastic is done, this may not be realisable.
He commended the amendment of the AMCON Act which he said leaves no room for debtors who hitherto have been employing all tactics including the court to frustrate AMCON’s debt recovery efforts.
According to him, the new law criminalises certain conducts by banks and their officials, empowers AMCON to freeze accounts of banks as well as compel banks to disclose details of obligors.
“Debtors have hidden under the technicalities of the law because their appeals can drag on for eternity but the amended AMCON Act has made that technically impossible because it has prescribed 60 days within which an appeal must be heard at the Court of Appeal in relation to AMCON cases, and six months at the Federal High Court, the court of first instance,” Abba said.
