Akin Kuponiyi
A Lagos-based company, Bodex Telecom Nigeria Limited, and its managing Director, Olabode Agboola, have slammed N20 million suit on First City Monument Bank Plc (FCMB), and three others, over alleged threat and deployment of what they described as “stringent and forceful measure” to recover what they described as ‘illegal debt’ from them.
Joined as co -defendants in the suit are a debt recovery agency, Bijoux International Services, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The applicants are seeking an order of the court to compel FCMB and its debt recovery agent, Bijoux International Services, to pay them the sum of N20 million as damages for continuous harassment and the threat of deployment of stringent measures against them.
The applicants are also seeking an order of the court restraining the respondents from deploying stringent and forceful measures in recovering from debt which they claim they never owed.
They are also seeking for a declaration that the threat of deploying stringent measures by FCMB and Bijoux International Services against them is illegal, oppressive, unconstitutional, null and void, as it violate their fundamental rights as enshrined under Sections 34, 35, 36, 40 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The applicants in affidavit in support of their originating motion deposed to by Adedotun Olatunbosun, a litigation Officer in the chambers of Surge Attorneys filed before the court by Barrister Nelson Okedinachi, averred that sometimes in 2013, FCMB availed them an overdraft of over N195 million, which they were diligent and religious in the repayment, and as at January 2015, they had repay all capital and interest of the loan.
However, the applicants stated that in June 2015, they decided to audit their account domiciled with the bank after the said audit by an external auditor; many discrepancies and Illegal charges were discovered.
Upon discovery of the discrepancies and Illegal charges, the applicants said they wrote a letter of complaint dated June 30, 2015, to FCMB, but the bank did not respond.
But the applicants stated that they received a letter from the bank’s debt recovery agency Bijoux International Services, alleging that they are indebted to FCMB to the tune of N260, 812, 843. 54 million.
They added that the agent has been threatening to use stringent measures to recover the purported debt from them since then.
Consequently, they stated that they are now under serious apprehension of arrest and Infringement of their fundamental rights, as they did not commit any crime that warrants the threat by the debt recovery agency.
The applicants therefore urged the court to grant their application in the interest of justice.
After listening to the submission of the applicants, the presiding Judge, Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo, ordered that the court processes should be served on all the respondents while the matter was adjourned till June 26 for report of service.