Firm Seeks N23bn Compensation Against AMCON

The Owners of Best Western Hotel, Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, Suru Worldwide Ventures Limited have demanded special damages in the sum of N23,087,390,000.00 (Twenty Three Billion, Eighty-Seven Million, Three Hundred and Ninety Thousand Naira Only) against the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) over the alleged unlawful continuing disruption/damage done to Best Western Hotel.

The firm is equally asking AMCON to pay it, general damages in the sum of N5,000,000,000.00(Five Billion Naira Only) for what it termed the deep-rooted and continuing disruption/damage done to Best Western Hotel’s business, personal reputation, and standing in the business community, and conversion by taking and/or wrongful interference with goods and unlawful detention thereof.

The company is further demanding that AMCON pay it a sum to the tune of N150,000,000.00 (One Hundred And Fifty Million Naira Only) as the cost of initiating the legal action.

Suru Worldwide Ventures Limited in a pre-action notice dated January 11, 2024, and signed by its lawyers, Layi Babatunde, SAN, and David Owoeye, posited that “Take notice therefore, that unless you take immediate steps to stop the further dissipation of our client’s properties and further remediate our clients’ lasses by restoring their properties (whether movable or Immovable) and paying adequate compensation for your acts of impunity within thirty days of the service of this Demand/Pre-Action notice on you, we shall be left with no alternative than to give effect to our clients’ standing instructions to institute a claim against you before a court of competent jurisdiction for the recovery of the full sum as enumerated above, in addition to interests, other costs and other applicable reliefs in the circumstance.”

According to the pre-action notice entitled, ‘Claim for damages for wrongful and/or unlawful conversion of properties and particularly damage to property situate, lying and being at 2, Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, called Best Western Hotel belonging to Suru Worldwide and for unmitigated losses’, specifically addressed to the Managing Director (MD) of AMCON, “We act as solicitors to Suru Worldwide Ventures Ltd and Mr Edward Akinlade of 2, Shany way, Off Shonny Highway, Shonibare Estates, Maryland, Ikeja, Lagos (hereinafter where applicable referred to as clients) and it is on their instructions that we write to you.

“You will also recall that on the 22nd of September 2017, at about 4:30 a.m., in the dark hours of the morning, your agents accompanied by heavily armed men, under the guise of enforcing a court order obtained behind our clients in suit no. FHC/VCS/1059/2016: AMCON V. IGP & 3ors, stormed our client’s hotel premises (known as Best Western Hotel) at No. 12, Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos.

“In the said suit, you obtained the following orders from the honourable court, namely:

“An order is made directing the defendants, jointly and severally, whether personally and/or through officers and men under their command and control, to assist the plaintiff, its officers, agents, and representatives howsoever described in exercising its right as a legal mortgagee under the Deeds of Legal Mortgage registered as 32/32/2033, 88/88/2032 and 89/89/2028, respectively.

“An order is made directing the defendants, jointly and severally, whether personally and/or through officers and men under their command and control, to assist the plaintiff, its officers, agents, and representatives howsoever described in maintaining peace, order and for the protection of its exclusive possessory rights and powers over the properties located at No. 86, Opebi Road, Ikeja, Lagos State, No. 12, Reverend Ogunbiyi Street, G.R.A., Ikeja, Lagos State and No. 12, Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos State pursuant to and in furtherance of the exercise and/or discharge of its functions and duties as the legal mortgagee of the said properties on account of your purported execution of said judgment.

“Our client claims that the brazen manner in which you proceeded, in a commando style, to forcibly take over our clients’ property (Best Western Hotel) at No. 12 Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, at about 4:30 a.m., in the dark hours of the day, thereby unlawfully holding hostage our clients’ guests, staff and other callers, and thereafter unlawfully ejecting our clients, their staff and customers/occupiers (both international and local customers), thereby bringing our clients’ business to ruin and tainting our clients’ well-established business reputation and brand which they have laboured to build and sustain over several years.

“Having secured unlawful and forcible possession of our client’s properties, you then proceeded to strip our clients’ properties of its entire fittings, furniture, lightings, other electronic appliances, and power generating sets.

“You have also caused significant structural alterations and dissipation to be done to our client’s property such that the status of our client’s international Four Star Hotel including its operating Best Western Licence has been substantially degraded almost to the point of no return.

“However, to your knowledge, the judgment upon which the purported execution was done has since been set aside by the Court of Appeal.

“It is also on record that your counterclaim for alleged indebtedness of our client in suit no. FHC/UCS/450/11; Suru Worldwide Ventures Ltd v. AMCON & Anor has since been dismissed by the Federal High Court, which dismissal was upheld by the Court of Appeal and is now on appeal to the Supreme Court.”

The Apex court will this week Friday, Feb 16 deliver a ruling in the civil application.