The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has taken over 12 “prime assets” belonging to the Chairman of Global Fleet Group, Jimoh Ibrahim, and had his accounts frozen over a N69.4 billion debt.

This followed an order by Justice R.M. Aikawa of the Federal High Court in Lagos, according to a statement by the Head of Corporate Communication at AMCON, Jude Nwauzor.

Based on the order of the court, AMCON took possession of top properties belonging to the businessman on Wednesday, through its debt recovery agent – Pinheiro Legal Partners.

Nwauzor said AMCON took over all the assets listed by the court and scattered around Abuja and Lagos on Wednesday with the help of court bailiffs and officers and men of the Nigerian police as mandated by the court.

The properties include the NICON Investment Limited building at Plot 242, Muhammadu Buhari Way, Central Business District, Abuja; NICON Hotels Limited building at Plot 557, Port-Harcourt Crescent, off Gimbiya Street, Abuja; and the NICON Lekki Limited building at No. 5, Customs Street, Lagos.

Others are Abuja International Hotels Limited building located at No. 3, Hospital Road, Lagos; another property at Plot 242, Muhammadu Buhari Way, Abuja; the former Allied Bank building on Mile 2, Oshodi Express Way, Apapa Road, Lagos; Energy House located on No. 94, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos; NICON Building at No. 40, Madeira Street, Maitama, Abuja; a Residential Apartment at Road 2, House A14, Victoria Garden City, Lagos; NICON Hotels building at Plot 3, Road 3, Victoria Garden City, Lagos; as well as the NICON Luxury Hotel’s building, Garki I, FCT, Abuja.

Apart from the buildings, the court also ordered the freezing of all accounts belonging to Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim and his companies including Global Fleet Oil & Gas Limited and NICON Investment Limited all of who are defendants in Suit No. FHL/L/CL/776/2016 presided over by Justice Aikawa on Wednesday, November 4, 2020.

In addition, the court granted AMCON possession over all shares belonging to Ibrahim and his two companies that are domiciled in Nigerian Re-Insurance Company Plc, NICON Insurance Company Plc, Nigeria Stockbrokers Limited (NSL), and NICON Trustees Limited.

Nwauzor said the assets were taken over without incident.

Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has commended the latest Supreme Court verdict on the election of Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, and the deputy governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo.

The governor, in a statement, described the ruling as “a victory for democracy”.

He said, “The verdict is a victory for democracy. The Supreme Court has upheld the wishes of Bayelsans.”

The governor, who said the ruling has put paid to issues surrounding the election, noted that Diri is now free from any entanglement to deliver on his promises to Bayelsa people in line with the manifesto of the Peoples Democratic Party in the state.

“While it was necessary for the law to run its course, there was no denying that the legal battle may have stalled some critical projects. With the ruling, we are confident that Bayelsa people would now enjoy the full benefits of the Governor Douye-led PDP government in the state,” he said.

The governor added, “I also commend the Supreme Court on the verdict, which restores stability to the government and puts the state on the path of progress. Bayelsans would be better for it in the long run. I once again congratulate the government and people of Bayelsa State for the outcome at the apex court.”

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, on Tuesday met with the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed, where they discussed issues and explored partnership in critical areas.

A statement issued on Wednesday by the Special Adviser to the Speaker on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, said Gbajabiamila and Mohammed also discussed issues relating to electoral reforms, gender-based violence, enabling environment for more women in politics, improvement of public financial management systems, managing Africa’s debt crisis as well as improving social investment and social protection systems in Nigeria.

It was titled ‘Gbajabiamila meets UN Dep. Sec. Gen., Mohammed, discusses social, economic devt, others.’

The statement quoted Gbajabiamila confirming that the issues aligned with the priorities of the House in its Legislative Agenda.

The Speaker said he looked forward to working with the Office of UN Deputy Secretary-General and the UN Resident Coordinator in taking things forward.

The discussion concluded with an agreement to explore partnerships in helping to deliver impact in the stated areas, particularly through specific legislative interventions which reflect the priorities of Nigerians, according to the statement.

Present at the meeting were the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Nigeria, Mr. William Kallon; the Special Assistant to the DSG, Hadiza Elayo; Special Assistant to the Resident Coordinator, Fred Eno; and the Special Adviser to the Speaker on International and Inter-Parliamentary Affairs, Mr Dapo Oyewole.

The bandits holding six Assistant Superintendents (ASPs) of Police captive in Katsina State for over one week are demanding N100m ransom for their release.

It was  gathered that the ASPs were among the nine who were just promoted to their current rank. They were attached to the Mobile Police Squadron 6, Maiduguri, Borno State.

Findings on Wednesday indicated that they were demobilised from the riot unit and eight of them were on their way to the Zamfara State Police Command on transfer when they were ambushed in the Dogondaji area of Katsina State and taken into the forest.

A reliable police source explained that the nine ASPs were planning to go to Zamfara State together but one of them changed his mind at the last minute while the others embarked on the trip in a commercial bus.

On getting to Kano, the driver was said to have asked them to join another vehicle as his bus had developed a fault.

The source said, “When they were released to go to Zamfara, they scheduled a day for the trip from Maiduguri, but one of them said he wasn’t comfortable with the trip and declined to join them. He said he had something to do and promised to join them in Zamfara later.

“So, the eight others left, but on getting to Kano, the driver said he couldn’t continue the journey to Zamfara, because his vehicle had developed a fault. They joined another vehicle and on their way around Dongodaji in Katsina State, the bandits accosted and kidnapped them.

“While being taken away, two of them escaped and one of them was shot in the leg though he didn’t die. He found himself at a village and the villagers took him to a police station and he was taken to a hospital. The other six officers are still with the bandits who are demanding N100m ransom.”

A senior police officer said the Commander, Mopol 6, could not account for the men when asked about their abduction, adding that he referred inquiries on the missing men to the Zamfara State Police Command.

The officer explained that the normal procedure was for the commander to send a signal to the Zamfara command informing it that he had released the nine ASPs, but he allegedly failed to follow the official procedure.

The source stated, “The problem came from the Commander, Mopol 6, their former squadron leader, who released them on transfer to Zamfara. He was supposed to relay the information on the kidnap incident, but he said he didn’t know about it when he was asked; instead, he referred inquiries to the Zamfara State Police Command.

“The commander should have sent a signal that the men had been released to go to Zamfara, but he didn’t do that. Normally, the Zamfara command would send a signal to Borno confirming that the men had resumed.”

Findings indicated that the families of the missing police officers were anxious about the safety of their breadwinners following the N100m ransom demanded by the bandits.

It was learnt that the families were attempting to raise N3m for the release of the captives or N500,000 each.

The Force spokesman, DCP Frank Mba, had yet to respond to inquiries on the incident as he did not respond to calls and SMS sent to his mobile telephone as of the time of filing in this report.

When contacted by one of our correspondents, one of the officers, who escaped from the abductors, said he was too weak to recount the incident.

“I have high BP (blood pressure); I just came back from a check-up. I cannot remember everything now. The incident happened on Sunday along the Katsina-Gusau Road,” he simply said.

The Public Relations Officer, Borno State Police Command, DSP Edet Okon, said there was no reported case of policemen from the command being abducted, adding that the alleged victims were no longer serving at the command because they had been transferred.

“The Borno State Police Command has not received any signal in respect of her officers being abducted. The alleged abduction of officers is still unknown to us as we have yet to receive any alert on the matter. That is the official position of the command as of this moment,” Okon stated.

When one of our correspondents visited the Mopol 6 base in Maiduguri, he observed that police personnel were overwhelmed by the kidnap of their colleagues, which came weeks after some of their men were killed and several others injured during an attack on the convoy of the Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum.

The mood in the barracks was very sober with little or no activity going on except for a few anti-riot policemen in uniform clustered in groups obviously discussing the incident.

It was gathered that some personnel of the command were recently attacked at the Bama Local Government Area of the state and the latest development had dampened the morale of the policemen.