Court Freezes Stella Oduah’s Accounts Over $16m And N100.4m Debt

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The Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday restrained Senator Stella Oduah, along with Sea Petroleum and Gas Company Limited and its directors, from making any withdrawals from the account of the company. 

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The order is in connection with an issue before the court of their indebtedness of over $16.4 million and N100.4 million. The court also forbade them from withdrawing any funds from the accounts of three other companies in 21 commercial banks listed before it. 

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The order of the court follows an affidavit sworn to by the business manager of Maritime of Sterling Bank, Segun Akinsanya, and filed and argued before the court by a Lagos lawyer, Kemi Balogun. 

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In the affidavit, Akinsanya averred that on October 8, 2012, the bank granted a lease/cabotage vessel finance facility to Sea Petroleum and Gas Company in the sum of $10,069,620.25 to finance one unit 5,000MT tanker vessel.

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The loan was secured by unconditional personal guarantee of the company’s director, Ms. Oduah, supported by a statement of her net worth, legal mortgage of two properties worth N135million, power of Attorney of the tanker vessel in favour of Sterling Bank and a fully executed and irrevocable standing payment order and tripartite remittance agreement between First Bank, Sterling Bank and Ms. Oduah. 

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It was further averred that between June 27, 2013 Sea Petroleum Company requested for and was granted additional facilities in the sum of $449,600, $642,954.00 and $350,000. 

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According to the affidavit, upon the persistent failure of the defendants to liquidate their indebtedness, Sterling Bank instructed the law firm of Oluwakemi Balogun to recover the debt.

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Akinsanya also averred that the defendants are also greatly indebted to a number of banks and have conceded a number of Assets to AMCON, which has stepped into the shoes of those banks, raising the imminent risk of the defendants dissipating the assets of the companies. Crdt: Saharareporters