By Innocent Anaba

LAGOS — Shareholders of defunct Oceanic Bank, have asked a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos to compel the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON, to return the N191 billion worth of assets forfeited by former Managing Director of the bank, Cecilia Ibru back to them (shareholders).

Cecilia Ibru had forfeited the assets as part of the plea bargain arrangement between her and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, which was sanctioned by the former Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Dan Abutu.

In a fresh suit by chairman, Association of Oceanic Bank Shareholders, Boniface Okezie and Adewale Basirat Abolanle as plaintiffs, they are praying the court for an order declaring that Ibru was liable to make good to them, monies and assets improperly “paid out or converted or otherwise improperly acquired from Oceanic Bank before its merger with Ecobank, arising from Ibru’s self-acknowledged acts of breach of her fiduciary duty to the Bank and them as shareholders.”

The plaintiffs, who are representing all the aggrieved shareholders of Oceanic Bank in the suit, while defendants are AMCON, CBN, EFCC, Federal Attorney General and Ibru.

The plaintiffs, who prayed for an order vesting them with powers to recover from Ibru and other defendants by way of tracing the assets forfeited by Ibru, also want the court to transfer the control of the said assets to them through their solicitor, Indemnity Partners.

The plaintiffs are further praying for an order setting aside the part of the plea bargain and settlement agreement between Ibru and EFCC in the proceedings before Justice Abutu, where parties agreed that the disputed assets should be forfeited to the Federal Government.