The founder of Innoson Nigeria Limited, Innocent Chukwuma, has denied there was a bench warrant applicationĀ at the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court instituted by the Nigerian government seeking his arrest.
The government had applied for a bench warrant for the arrest of Mr. Chukwuma and his company, as well as Charles Chukwu and Anajekwu Sunny for failure to present themselves before the court.
The defendants, alongside Maximian Chukwura and Mitsui Osk Lines, are facing a four-count charge of falsifying shipping documents amounting to N2.4 billion.
WhileĀ Mr.Ā Chukwura and Mitsui Osk Lines had attended every court proceeding since the charges were instituted in 2015, the rest had been continually absent.
In his response to various publication, Mr. Chukwuma through Cornel Osigwe, Head of Corporate Communications at Innoson Group, said there was no pending charge against the Innoson boss as the police had, on February 17th, 2016, withdrawn the charge āto enable it conclude investigation of the allegation leading to the charge.ā
But documents seen by us showed that on March 8, 2017, the Attorney General of the Federation wrote to the Inspector General of Police requesting that he produceĀ for arraignment in court Innoson Nigeria Limited and Messrs. Chukwuma, Chukwu, and Anajekwu, who had been granted administrative bail by the police.
Last month, the government filed an application praying the court to issue a bench warrant arrest against the defendants. The court adjourned tillĀ November 21Ā to hear the application for the issuance of a bench warrant.
Mr. Chukwuma further accused Guaranty Trust Bank of sponsoring misleading stories in the media against him in order to avoid payment of N8.4 billion awarded against it by the court.
Efforts to reach the bank was unsuccessful. An officer of the bank, who declined to state his name,Ā on MondayĀ promised to channel the questions posed to him to the appropriate quarters and revertĀ within 24 hours. Subsequent calls to him were not answered.
Read Innosonās Right of Reply below
False Allegation: No Application for Issuance of Bench Warrant against Innoson
Our attention has been drawn to a false publication onĀ Premium Times of Friday, November 3, 2017captionedĀ āNigeria Police want Court to order arrest of Innoson Motorsā boss,āĀ and we, as a result, deem it proper to respond and put the records straight.
First, a bench warrant can only be applied for and, if the necessary conditions are met, be issued by the Court in a pending charge.Ā As it is, there is no charge pending against Innoson Motors Boss āĀ Chief Ā Innocent Chukwuma, his company, Charles Chukwu, Maximian Chukwura, Mistsui Osk LinesĀ andĀ Anajekwu Sunny.Ā Although, inĀ December 2015, the Inspector General of Police initiatedĀ Charge No: FHC/L/565C/2015Ā againstĀ Chief Innocent Chukwuma and 5 others, the Police through its instrument duly initialed and filed in the Court, in the same charge, onĀ February 17, 2016Ā withdrew the charge to enable it conclude investigation of the allegation leading to the charge.
The genesis of the withdrawn trumped-up charge:
At all material time Innoson Nigeria Ltd. was a customer ofĀ Guaranty Trust Bank Plc. Sometime inĀ 2012Ā Innoson discovered that GTBĀ imposed and debited its current account with overĀ N700 millionĀ excess and unlawful charges.Ā GTBĀ failed and refused to refund theĀ N700 millionĀ to Innoson. Consequently, Innoson commencedĀ Suit No: FHC/AWK/CS/139/2012Ā againstĀ GTBĀ and thereat the Court rendered judgment in the sum ofĀ N4.7 Billion withĀ 22 per centĀ interest on the judgment debt until satisfaction of the judgment debt in favour of Innoson againstĀ GTB.Ā GTBĀ appealed to the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division against the judgment inĀ Appeal No: CA/E/288/2013. However, onĀ December 9, 2014, the Court of Appeal orderedĀ GTBĀ to pay the judgment debt, which then stood at overĀ N6 billion,Ā into an interest-yielding account in the name of the court.
Also, inĀ Suit No: FHC/L/CS/603/2006, theĀ Federal High Court, Ibadan DivisionĀ orderedĀ GTB, in a garnishee order absolute made onĀ 29thĀ day of July 2011, to payĀ N2.4 billionĀ to Innoson. Also, The Court of Appeal Ibadan Division in its judgment ofĀ February 6, 2014 inĀ Appeal No: CA/I/258/2011Ā affirmed the decision of the Federal High Court and orderedĀ GTBĀ to pay theĀ N2.4 billion to Innoson.
As atĀ 2013/2014Ā the outstanding indebtedness ofĀ GTBĀ to Innoson by reason of the judgment debts was overĀ N8.5 billion.Ā In its various affidavits, particularly at the Court of Appeal inĀ Appeal No: CA/E/288/2013,Ā GTBĀ deposed that if it pays the outstanding judgment debt ofĀ N6 billion,Ā let alone theĀ N8.5 billion,Ā it will collapse and be out of business.
Consequently, in order to save itself from paying the outstanding judgment debts to Innoson, it resorted to a fictitious petition and, in a characteristic manner, the trumped-up charge āĀ Charge No: FHC/L/565C/2015Ā ā which was properly and competently withdrawn by the police onĀ February 17, 2016.
Now turning to the allegation of falsification of shipping documents and representing them as genuine to obtain a loan ofN2.4 billion fromĀ GTB:Ā GTBĀ did not at any time grant any loan ofĀ N2.4 billion to Innoson and there was no such thing as Innoson obtaining any loan fromĀ GTBĀ with shipping documents.
Innoson obtained, and had repaid same, a loan ofĀ N1.3 billionĀ fromĀ GTBĀ and secured same with a legal mortgage of its properties worth overĀ N1.4 billion.Ā For emphasis, shipping documents, vide: Bills of Lading, are issued when goods covered by them are already loaded onto the carrying vessel, and no manufacturer would release its goods for shipment unless it is paid or its payment guaranteed.Ā In this circumstance, ifĀ GTBĀ is saying that Innoson used bills of lading to obtain loan from it, does it mean that it didnāt investigate the genuineness of the bills of lading before granting the loan ā this is not an attribute of a seasoned bank except that of an unethical and a careless bank; secondly, it means that for Innoson to have the bills of lading the goods were already paid for and as such it does not need any loan fromĀ GTBĀ in that regard. This shows that no loan was obtained with shipping documents ā bills of lading.
Again,Ā GTBĀ paid the duties for all the goods Innoson imported with the facility it granted to it before Innoson cleared the goods covered by the Bills of Lading. As at the time of payment of the dutiesĀ GTBĀ knew or ought to know that the goods covered by the Bills of Lading and its facility were to be cleared. Again, after clearing the goods Innoson returned toĀ GTBĀ the relevant exchange copies/documents for transmission toĀ Central Bank of NigeriaĀ and accordinglyĀ GTBĀ transmitted them to theĀ Central Bank of Nigeria.
Innoson never did anything hidden, fraudulent or criminal in all its dealings withĀ GTB.Ā GTBĀ is only looking for means to blackmail, hoodwink and force Innoson to forego its monetary judgment against it. This judgment debt as at today stood at overĀ N10 Billion.Ā Ā GTBāsĀ strategy in this regard knows no limit.Ā Recently, in a ploy to get the Supreme Court of Nigeria set aside theĀ N2.4 BillionĀ judgment debt against it, it alleged throughĀ a motion inĀ Appeal No: SC/694/2014Ā that Innoson obtained the judgment inĀ Appeal No: CA/I/258/2011Ā by fraud but the Supreme Court in its wisdom, and rightly, dismissed that inĀ May 2017. As a result, Innoson commenced aĀ N400 billionĀ suit againstĀ GTBĀ inĀ Suit No: FCT/HC/CV/2448/2017Ā at the High Court Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
There is pending at the Court of Appeal an appeal on whether there is any charge at the Federal High Court, given the police withdrawal of the charge.Ā Though the motion for stay of further proceedings was dismissed by the Court of Appeal while the substantive appeal is still pending, Innoson has appealed against that decision to the Supreme Court of Nigeria, thus SC:839/2017.Ā At the Supreme Court, Innoson filed motions for stay of further proceedings inĀ Charge No: FHC/L/565C/2015Ā and stay of execution of the directive of the Court of Appeal that proceedings should continue.Ā Innoson has given the Federal High Court Notice of these two motions pending at the Supreme Court.
Justice Faji did not adjourn, onĀ October 10,Ā toĀ November 21Ā for hearing of the application for issuance of bench warrant but rather to study the ruling of the Court of Appeal and to hear Innosonās and othersā preliminary objection. There was no application for issuance of bench warrant pending before Honourable Justice Faji onĀ October 10.
Cornel Osigwe
Head of Corporate Communications
Innoson Group