Fraud: NDDC Boss in new Financial Mess as Court Freezes all his Bank Accounts

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News, News Across Nigeria, News From The State, Uncategorized Wednesday, April 26th, 2017

By Ayo Balogun, Abuja

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) -Following his refusal to pay his debts and failure to honour a loan obligation, a Federal court in Uyo recently ordered that the incumbent Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Corporation (NDDC) Nsima Ekere forfeited all monies in his bank accounts and a plot of land located at Plot A, 921 Lagos Street, Ewet Housing Estate, Akwa-Ibom.

Nsima Ekere, a controversial former deputy governor in Akwa-ibom was said to have obtained twenty-seven million naira loan from now defunct oceanic banks and refused to pay the debt, a common practice among Nigerian political class.

As a result of his failure to pay the debts, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), the receiver company of the defunct Oceanic bank dragged Mr Ekere to court and got an injunction freezing all his bank accounts, until the plaintiff (AMCON) recovers its money from the defendant (Ekere).

In the ruling delivered on Thursday, March 20, 2017 in case number: FHC/UY/CS/36/2017 Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Uyo ordered as follows:

“That an order is thus granted to freeze all monies and/or whatsoever assets due to the Defendant from all bank accounts maintained by the Defendant with all commercial banks in Nigeria to wit: Access Bank Nigeria Plc, Citi Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Eco Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, First City Monumental Bank, And First Bank Of Nigeria.

“Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Heritage Bank Plc, Jaiz Bank, Keystone Bank Plc, Skye Bank Plc, Stanbic Ibtc Bank Plc, Sterling Bank Plc, Standard Chartered Bank Plc, Union Bank Plc, Unity Bank Of Nigeria, United Bank Of Nigeria, Wema Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, situate up to the Plaintiff/Applicant’s claim of the sum of N27,022,720.93 (Twenty-seven million, Twenty-two thousand, Seven hundred and Twenty Naira, Ninety-three Kobo) only being a debt owed by the Defendant as at 20th February 2017 in respect to the credit facility granted to the Defendant/Respondent by the defunct Oceanic Bank International Plc. (now Eco Bank Plc.).

“The Defendant, his agents, privies or any other person natural or artificial, however so-called, under the control of the defendant, is restrained from transferring or otherwise dealing with any monies standing to the credit of the Defendant with any of the aforementioned banks wherever situated up to the amount of the Plaintiff/Applicant’s claim of the sum of N27,022,720,93.

The court also ordered the commissioner of police to provide mobile police security to the plaintiff to assist the enforcement of taking over of Ekere’s plot of land located at Ewet housing estate in Uyo.

In another development, our correspondent gathered that the leadership of the NDDC as presently constituted, has allegedly diverted millions of naira of advertisements money meant for both traditional and online platforms to showcase projects and other programs of the commission.

Recall that only recently, the financial mess of the management of the NDDC, under the watchful eye of Mr Nsima Ekere, also came to the front burner in a bombshell released by the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee (PACAC) Prof. Itse Sagay, saying the NNDC was extremely corrupt and lacked transparency.

According to Sagay, the recklessness with which public officers spend public funds is insensitive to the point of insanity.

Prof. Sagay who spoke in March, 2017 at the opening of a two-day national dialogue on corruption organised by PACAC in collaboration with the Office of the Vice President disclosed that NDDC, under corrupt Ekere, recently bought 70 cars, including eight Super Lexus Jeeps at N78 million each and 10 Landcruisers each costing N63 million.

“The cars were bought with money from funds meant for infrastructure, water, housing, hospital, schools, without conscience and without a thought for the wretched people of the Niger Delta.

“These huge sums were plundered from their allocations and yet the Managing Director was ironically complaining as reported by the newspapers of Feb. 6, 2017 that the NDDC lacks funds to executive projects. The managing director also said that NDDC was in debt up to the tune of N1.2 trillion. What an irony.” Sagay explained.

Many Nigerians are however doubt if corrupt people like the NDDC boss who heads rich intervention agencies would not dent the anti-graft crusade of the Buhari administration.