Court adjourns National Universities Commission suit against Heritage Bank till January 22

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday adjourned till January 22, 2015 for hearing, pending applications on the suit brought against Heritage Banking Company Ltd by the National Universities Commission(NUC).

NUC had in 2005 approached the court seeking an order to recover from the bank its principal deposit of N220 million with the accrued interests.

Counsel to NUC, Mr Taiwo Oladipo, had said that on Feb. 3, 2006, the Federal High Court gave judgment in favour of NUC for the recovery of the aforementioned debt.

He said that Heritage Bank acquired the defunct Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria in which name the first judgment was obtained.

Oladipo said Justice G.K. Oluto of the Federal High Court granted the application to adopt and adapt 2006 judgment on Heritage Banking Company Ltd on May, 2013.

He said the Judgment facilitated the institution of “garnishee proceedings’” against the bank which was obtained on June, 2013.

Garnishee proceedings is a legal procedure by which a creditor can collect what a debtor owes by reaching the debtor’s property when it is in the hands of a third party.

According to Oladipo, while the garnishee order was on at the Federal High Court, Heritage Bank appealed the seven year old judgment which was dismissed by the Court of Appeal.

He said that Heritage Bank had never denied owing NUC but was insisting on waiver for all the interest that accrued on the principal sum of N220 million

At a resumed hearing before Justice Evoh Chukwu, who the case was re-assigned to, Oladipo told the court that the defendant had an application for stay of proceedings.

He said that he had filed a preliminary objection to the application of the defendant.

The presiding judge adjourned the case to Jan. 22 to hear all pending applications.

(NAN)