Recently, Babrican Capital Limited, an affiliate of Honeywell Group Limited (HGL), acquired 4.7 billion shares of FBN Holdings Plc (FBNH), the parent company of First Bank of Nigeria.
Oba Otudeko is the chairman of Honeywell Group and former chairman of FBN Holdings.
According to a notice filed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited, Honeywell Group and its affiliates acquired an aggregate of 4,770,269,843 units of FBN Holdings’ shares.
The shares represent over 13 percent of the stakes in FBN.
THE CLAIM
However, a few days later, Ecobank accused Otudeko’s companies of a N13.5 billion debt.
According to a letter dated July 7, 2023, Kunle Ogunba, lawyer of Ecobank, claimed Otudeko was “diverting his assets and that of the Honeywell Group of companies through the said Barbican Capital Limited”.
The bank added that this move is “in order to frustrate the enforcement of the judgment of the Supreme Court against him and the Honeywell companies towards recovering his/their undisputed indebtedness to our client”.
Ecobank also claimed that “the Supreme Court on January 27, 2023, in appeal No. SC/CV/210/2021 delivered judgment affirming the indebtedness of the above persons to our client”.
“It further commanded that they must pay all outstanding debts that have accrued under the loan contract between the parties; being the same debt personally guaranteed by Otudeko, which said indebtedness stood in the sum of N13,507,052,417.99 as at January 31, 2023, whilst interest continues to accrue on the due debts as legally sanctioned by the supreme court of Nigeria, the highest court in the land, aforesaid,” the letter reads.
Does Otudeko truly owe Ecobank and is there a supreme court verdict as claimed?
CHAIN OF EVENTS
In 2012, Anchorage Leisures Limited, Honeywell Flour Mills Plc and Siloam Global Services Limited borrowed from Oceanic Bank, which was subsequently acquired by Ecobank.
These loans were all performing in accordance with agreed terms.
In May 2012, subsequent to the acquisition by Ecobank, Honeywell on behalf of the companies commenced discussions to reach an agreement for full and final settlement of the indebtedness.
However, in July 22, 2013, an agreement was reached that the companies would jointly pay the sum of N3.5 billion in full and final settlement of their indebtedness to Ecobank. The sum of N3.5 billion was paid and a letter written to the bank confirming the terms of the agreement.
The bank was said to have responded the same day, confirming the payment.
