A businessman, Mr. Lateef Adebimpe has requested for the assistance of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to execute a 21 year-old judgment debt which as at February 29th last year stood at N23,530,882.01.
This was contained in a petition addressed to the anti-graft agency.
The petition revealed that a 1994 business transaction between Baliol Nigeria Limited headed by the petitioner (Adebimpe) and Navcon Nigeria Limited owned by a group of Indians in collaboration with some Nigerians led to litigation which earned the later company (Navcon) the judgment debt.
It was revealed that the litigation which began in 1995 at a Lagos High Court with Ref. No. LD/1130/95 ended at the Supreme Court in Suit No. SC/57/2003, Abuja in 2010 in favor of the petitioner, but, regrettably, the judgment debtor has till date refused to abide by the judgment despite all efforts by the petitioner.
Ahead of the consequences of the fraudulent act which led to the litigation, the petitioner disclosed that the promoters of Navcon Nigeria Limited had as far back as 1995, abandoned it by floating another company, Navcon Chemicals Ltd. with RC No. 269733 to cover up and render the envisaged court judgment ineffectual.
Through series of search conducted by the petitioner at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) the petitioner disclosed that the promoters of Navcon Nigeria Limited also incorporated different other companies undertaking similar business activities, an act described as dubious.
The petition listed such other companies as Continental Agricultural Equipment Limited, Navcon Oil and Gas Ltd., Parco Enterprises Nigeria Ltd., Diamonds Bicycles and Tubes Ltd., African Foundries Ltd., and African Hydro-Agric Chemicals Ltd. and others.
With the revelation through the search conducted at the CAC that all the aforementioned companies parade virtually same Directors/Subscribers, the petitioner maintained that “it will be in the interest of justice and fairness to hold all the Directors and Subscribers of Navcon Nigeria Ltd. and its sister companies precariously liable for the offence committed by their sister company (Navcon Nigeria Ltd.) against the judgment creditor, Baliol Nigeria Ltd.”.
Adebimpe alleged in the petition that a particular Indian and the Chairman of the company (Navcon Nigeria Ltd.), Mr. Parduman Kumar Gupta, “is responsible for bringing his co-nationals to Nigeria to perpetrate all sorts of business atrocities and he beats his chest to know everybody that matters in Nigeria.
“He prides himself as somebody who can walk away from justice with impunity. That attitude of his is responsible for his blantant denial of having anything to do with business concerns like Navcon Nigeria Ltd and Parco Enterprises Nigeria Ltd. in which he has played a dominant role in the running of these companies and others floated by him and his cohorts for dubious purposes,” the petitioner added.
Replying one of the series of letters of demand for the execution of the judgment debt in 2010, Gupta, through his counsel according to the petitioner denied having any business relationship with Navcon Nigeria Ltd., yet, “he singlehandedly financed the legal battle for Navcon Nigeria Ltd. against us (Baliol Nigeria Ltd.) from High Court in Lagos in 1995 to the Court of Appeal in 2001 and finally to the Supreme Court, Abuja from 2003 to 2010”.
After his full involvement in the litigation process, Adebimpe noted that Gupta, “now decides to make a nonsense and mockery of the judicial pronouncement/judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria which we will continue to fight until this arrogant man and his collaborators are made to respect Nigerians and the Nigerian nation.”
