By Peter Duru, Makurdi

The Benue Investment and Property Company, BIPC, has filed a N4.7b suit against the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC, over the alleged illegal sale of its shares.

Also joined in the suit filed before Justice Rafael Egbe of the Federal High Court Makurdi is the All States Trust Bank (in-liquidation).

The case was said to have commenced in 2011, but went into arbitration for out of court settlement but could not be resolved.

The plaintiff in the suit avered that they applied for a loan facility of N550m from the Federal Mortgage Bank, FMB, and pledged some of her shares to All States Bank (in -liquidation) for the bank to guarantee the loan.

The plaintiff further avered that the respondents who did not fulfill her part of the contract agreement, charged them arbitrary and sold their shares placed in their custody as collateral.

They are seeking an order of the court “directing the Defendants to revert the plaintiff’s account to its former credit position. An order directing the Defendants to surrender to the Piaintiff all her Share Certificates given as Coltateral/Security for the facilities.”

The plaintiff is also seeking the court’s order directing the Defendants to pay to company the sum N2.6billion being the lost-income for her inability to trade with the stocks which were pledged as collateral and had been held by the 2nd Defendant and now the 1st Defendant valued at over N740 million, at the time of transaction and appreciating to over N5.5billion as at 2007.

The Plaintiff is also seeking the court’s order “directing the Defendant to respectively pay to the Plaintiff the sum of N99,577,364.47 being the proceeds of the shares (illegally sold by the 2nd Defendant and N62,872,319.51million being value of lost dividends and bonuses over the period.”

The plaintiff also asked for the award of N2billion as General Damages.

When the case came up for hearing  Wednesday, Counsel to the plaintiff, Douglas Pepe, a Senior Advocate, called a chief witness, Mr. Paul Agu, a former staff and ex Managing Director of the company.

Agu told the court that the plaintiff applied for a loan facility of N550m from the Federal Mortgage Bank and pledged some of her shares to All States Bank (in -liquidation) for the Bank to guarantee the loan.

He explained that the money was to come through the liquidated bank adding that the bank was to take her commission and stand as their guarantor before the mortgage bank.

He said the bank failed to meet her contractual agreements with the plaintiff yet started deducting charges from the company’s account stressing that “the bank also failed to complete the process of opening the letter of credit as required in such cases.”

Mr. Pepe through his star witness tendered 32 documents to support their position. Among the documents tendered were the bank statement of the plaintiff in All States Bank (in -liquidation) between August 1, 2002 and December 31, 2003. He also tendered details of transfers of shares sold by the respondents and closed his case.

However, the respondents presented by Mr. Aondover Iorngee after cross examining the witness requested for a date to open his defence.

Ruling, Justice Egbe adjourned the matter to May 5, 2025 for the opening of defence.