16th August, 2012
There is no respite yet for Keystone Bank Limited (formerly Bank PHB Plc) as two of its staff Anayo Nwosu, Jide Oshodi and a private limited liability company, Nulec Industries Plc, standing trial before an Ikeja high court over an alleged N855 million fraud, as the victim of the alleged scam, Sir Daniel Chukwudozie, has also instituted civil action against the accused persons.
As the court presided over by Justice Habeeb Abinu adjourned the criminal case till 24 October, 2012 for the trial of the accused persons to commence, a Lagos lawyer, Barrister Abiodun Onidare, on behalf of Sir Daniel Chukwudozie and his company, Dozzy Oil and Gas Limited in a statement of claim filed before a federal high court in Lagos, southwest Nigeria, is not only claiming the sum of N855 million alleged to have been obtained by false pretence but also claiming the sum of N50 million and N15 million as general damages and solicitors fees respectively.
In the said statement of claim, Sir Chukwudozie and his company alleged that what led to the current legal action started sometime in July 2008 when Anayo Nwosu with whom he had a personal relationship introduced him to a private placement offering of Nulec Industries Plc on behalf of Keystone Bank.
The plaintiffs averred that he was very reluctant to invest in the company, but was convinced and re-assured by the bank vide the said Anayo Nwosu that the shares of the company will be listed on the floor of the Nigeria Stock Exchange.
Consequently, he acquired 22 million shares at the offered price of N2.85 per share. In addition he was required to pay a premium charge of N1.10 per share in respect of 100 million shares totalling N110,000,000. Beside this, the plaintiff averred that the total number of shares acquired from the Nulec Company by him and other investors he encouraged and introduced by his company amounted to 300 million units of shares totalling N855 million.
However, contrary to the representations made to him by the bank, the shares of Nulec Company were not listed by the Nigeria Stock Exchange and after months of rigmarole, shares of other investor were transferred and registered in the name of his company, thereby making his company the majority shareholder in Nulec Industries Limited.
Keystone Bank was alleged to have acted as the issuing house, financial and receiving bank to the Nulec company’s private placement. The plaintiff, therefore, averred that through deceit, Nulec Company and Keystone Bank made a misleading and false representations which led to the total amount of N855 million to be invested by the plaintiff in the said private placement offer of the company.
The plaintiff in the particulars of fraudulent misrepresentation alleged that as soon as the proceeds from the private placement amounting to about N1.425 billion was realised, Nulec Company became comatose, that unknown to the plaintiff, Nulec Company was indebted to Keystone Bank in the sum of N130 million at the time of the private placement offer.
It was further alleged that before the closure of the offer and determination of allotment pattern, Nulec in connivance with Keystone Bank fraudulently diverted N145 million in order to pay off the Nulec indebtedness to the bank in a clear breach of sections 110,95 (3) of the Investment and Securities Act 2007.
In view of the above scenario the plaintiff’s claim against the defendants jointly and severally are as follows the sum of N50 million as general damages against the defendants and solicitors fees in the sum of N15 million.