Three former shareholders of the defunct Intercontinental Bank have dragged the suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, before an Abuja Federal High Court over alleged fraudulent take-over of Intercontinental Bank Plc by Access Bank Plc.
When the matter came up yesterday for mention, counsel to the plaintiffs, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), told the presiding judge, Hon. Justice Ahmed Mohammed, that they were in court to seek the leave of the court to serve the Originating Summons and other court processes on the first defendant, Sanusi.
He said: “We are for an order of this Honourable court to grant leave to serve Originating Summons and other court processes in this suit on the 1st defendant by substituted means through delivery of the document to any adult person or officer at his last known office address being the CBN governor’s office or in the alternative be pasted on the notice board of the CBN”.
Among the reliefs being sought by the plaintiffs is for the court to determine whether Sanusi did not act fraudulently as the CBN governor, in breach of his public office, against public interest in deliberately strangulating the banking operations and falsifying the actual financial state of affairs of Intercontinental Bank Plc, only to undervalue the said bank to the detriment of the plaintiffs as shareholders and sell the said bank to his friends and cronies in Access Bank Plc.
Uche urged the court to grant the reliefs being sought. Ruling on the application, Justice Mohammed ordered the service of the Originating Summons and other processes on the 1st defendant (Mallam Sanusi).
He adjourned the matter to 14 April, 2014. The plaintiffs are: Abdullahi M. Sani, Adaeze Onwuegbusi and Chijioke Ezeikpe.
Other defendants are Central Bank of Nigeria (2nd defendant) and Securities and Exchange Commission (3rd defendant).
