August 14, (THEWILL) –Â The estate of late Chief Sunny Odogwu and two of his companies have filed an appeal against the Federal High Court judgement, asking Odogwu’s estate to pay up its debt.
The judgement, delivered by Hon Justice E Osiagor, on the 5th day of August, 2022, in SUIT NO: FHC/L/CS/1955/2021, BETWEEN Access Bank V Robert Dyson & Diket Limited & Ors. Hon. Justice Osiagor had in the judgement, set aside an earlier consent judgement of the Federal High Court in Suit No FHC/L/CS/156/2017, on the basis that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to have entered the consent judgement.
However, the Appellants are contending before the Appellate Court that the Federal High Court acted without jurisdiction by sitting on appeal over a consent judgement and consequently making an order setting aside an earlier consent judgement of the Federal High Court.
The grouse of the Appellants as disclosed in the notice of appeal filed on the 9th day of August, 2022, is amongst others, premised on the fact that the consent judgement which Access Bank Plc challenged, was entered on the application of Access Bank Plc only for the Bank to turn around several years after parties have consummated the terms of the consent judgement to institute another case before the Federal High Court challenging the consent judgement.
The estate of the Late Business Mogul through their Counsel, Anthony Idigbe SAN, also challenged the decision of Justice Osiagor that allowed Access Bank to execute the judgement in Suit No: FHC/L/CS/1633/14.
Hon Justice Saidu of the Federal High Court, in 2015, in Suit No: FHC/L/CS/1633/14, entered judgement in the sum of N26 billion in favour of Diamond Bank (Access Bank) and against Chief Sunny Odogwu and his two companies. After the delivery of the judgement, Odogwu and his companies immediately appealed against the judgement, which was entered as Appeal CA/L/1151/2015.
The parties, however, met and voluntarily engaged in an amicable resolution of the matters, which led to the execution of a settlement agreement pursuant to which the Bank received several assets and recovered over N8 billion.
By the terms of the Consent Judgement entered by the Court on October 11, 2019, the Bank agreed to receive the sum of N12 billion as full and final settlement of the judgement debt and to relinquish and compromise any rights conferred on it by virtue of the judgement delivered by Saidu J in Suit No: FHC/L/CS/1633/14.
In the Consent Judgement, Access Bank equally undertook that it shall not enforce the judgement and agreed that the only available right to the parties would be the enforcement of the terms of the Consent Judgement.
The Bank compromised any right conferred on it by virtue of the judgement of Saidu J in Suit No: FHC/L/CS/1633/14, in respect of the property located at 31-35 Ikoyi Crescent, Lagos, in exchange for 5 different properties provided by the Estate of Late Chief Sunny Odogwu and his two companies, which original title documents were delivered to the Bank.
Access bank took delivery of the title documents of all the properties mentioned in the Consent Judgement. The Bank, however, approached the Federal High Court seeking to renege on its obligation not to enforce the judgement in Suit No: FHC/L/CS/1633/14 and claimed to have sold the property situated at 31-35 Ikoyi Crescent, Lagos, after taking benefit of other properties furnished by the Estate of Chief Sunny Odogwu.
The appeal has challenged the judgement of Hon Justice Osiagor, which validated the purported sale of the property situated at 31-35 Ikoyi Crescent, Lagos.
The Notice of Appeal accused the trial Court of acting based on speculation and conjecture as the claim of Access Bank that it sold the property at 31-35 Ikoyi Crescent, Lagos, to one Siete Trading Limited was not supported by any document placed before the Court. No deed of assignment or any document was placed before the Court to show that the property was sold.
The appeal also challenged the Judgement of the trial Court for granting reliefs already abandoned and making orders in favour of Siete Trading Limited, a company that had already withdrawn from the matter. The appeal also challenged the order of the Learned Trial Judge against the Registrar of Titles to issue a title document in favour of Siete Trading Limited because Access Bank had already discontinued the suit against the Registrar of Titles, who was sued initially as the 4th Respondent. Moreso, Access Bank does not have title over the property at 31-35 Ikoyi Crescent Lagos and could, therefore, not transfer any valid title to Siete Trading Limited.
A motion for stay of Execution and Injunction pending appeal was equally filed contemporaneously with the Notice of Appeal seeking to stop Access Bank from giving effect to the Judgement before the determination of the appeal filed at the Court of Appeal.
