EcoBank Nigeria, its parent companies and leadership are facing a legal suit in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on allegations of defamation, abusive proceedings and coercion in Nigeria.
The $68 million legal claim in the UAE was filed against Jeremy Awori, CEO of Ecobank Transnational Inc (ETI); ETI Specialized Resolutions Company (ETISRC); Ecobank Nigeria (ENG); and Oladele Alabi, Managing Director of ETISRC.
In the publication of notice of service sighted by Ripples Nigeria, the plaintiffs urged that “the Defendants be ordered jointly and collectively to pay AED 249,155,925 with the legal interests at the rate of 12% p.a. from the claim date until full payment.”
The defendants are alleged to have attempted to coerce Wilben Trade and its CEO, Marcus Wade, into making substantial undue payments to ENG and ETISRC following a loss suffered in 2015. “Over the last two years, accusations made by ETISRC, led by Oladele ‘Dele’ Alabi and ENG, have caused significant distress and reputational and financial harm to Wilben Trade”, the court filings stated.
According to findings, in 2015, ENG reportedly suffered losses exceeding $42 million from two transactions with its existing customer, Agrico Agbe Limited and its associate company, Little Rose Trading LLC. Findings further suggest, that at Ecobank’s request, Wilben Trade was reportedly brought into the transactions solely to provide an intermediary service and discount Letter of Credit issued by Ecobank and had no other involvement.
Following multiple failed attempts to recover losses from the original customers and those directly responsible, ETISRC turned its focus to Wilben Trade. However, legal counsel to Wilben labelled the defendant’s action as “an extortion attempt”.
In 2022, ETISRC escalated its actions, filing a report with the Nigeria Police Force through legal practitioners Wigwe & Co. The report alleged that Wilben Trade had improperly received $42,485,900 from EBN and had engaged in “Conspiracy and Fraudulent Conversion”. But Wilben Trade contended that the allegations are baseless and were allegedly fabricated by Oladele Alabi, Managing Director of ETISRC, the ETI subsidiary responsible for the complaint, “as a result of the ability of powerful private interests to instrumentalise public institutions and resources in Nigeria”, he said.
This latest legal action in UAE underscores Wilben Trade and Marcus Wade’s commitment to protecting its reputation and seeking redress for the significant distress and damages said to have been inflicted by these allegations.
Speaking on the matter, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe SAN, Partner, Sofunde Osakwe Ogundipe & Belgore Legal Practitioners, commented: “In addition to taking action in Nigeria, our client is pursuing international legal action to address Ecobank’s abusive tactics and repair the ongoing damage caused to our client by Ecobank’s improper use of public institutions to pursue its baseless complaints against our client.
“Despite repeated appeals for constructive dialogue to address these issues and end the misconduct, Ecobank has refused to engage meaningfully.”
Ripples Nigeria sighted legal correspondence indicating that ETI leadership had been made aware of this issue since August 2023, as well as efforts aimed at finding an amicable resolution to avoid legal disputes that have emanated.
Responding to Ripples Nigeria enquiry on the latest suit filed against it and it’s leadership, Ecobank it cannot comment on a case that is before courts in Nigeria and in India.
The bank also stated that ETI is not a party in the suits, even as it denied all allegations of extortion pertaining to the matter.
“Please note that the issue you referenced is currently the subject of litigation in Nigerian and Indian courts, in connection with an established case of fraud perpetrated against the Ecobank Group (Ecobank) by individuals currently being prosecuted by the appropriate authorities in Nigeria. As a result, Ecobank is unable to provide any comment on this matter at this time.
“It is important to note that while Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (the holding company of the Ecobank Group) is not a party to the ongoing litigation, Ecobank denies all allegations of extortion pertaining to this matter”, the bank told Ripples Nigeria.
It would be recalled that Ripples Nigeria had earlier reported the legal web of intricacies between the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Ecobank Nigeria (ENG) and Ecobank Transnational Inc. Specialized Resolutions Company (ETISRC) as well as Wilben Trade (Wilben), and its CEO, Marcus Wade.
The report highlighted how the CBN had received and acknowledged a petition against ETISRC and ENG but later tagged a release by the petitioners as fake on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle.
The CBN thereafter attracted the ire of a lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) over itscomment around the petition which accused ENG and ETISRC of wrongdoing in a matter also involving Wilben, and Wade.
The solicitor to Wilben Trade, Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe (SAN) Partner, Sofunde Osakwe Ogundipe & Belgore Legal Practitioners, came down hard on the CBN and asked the apex bank to retrace its steps, and take down the denial post from all its social media handles, or face legal actions.
Akangbe had said: “Our attention has been drawn to social media posts from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) branding a press release issued by us, on behalf of our client, as fake.
“None of the content found in this release is fake or misleading. In fact, following a letter addressed to CBN on 22 July 2024 regarding the highly questionable conduct of Ecobank Nigeria, ETI Specialized Resolution Company Limited and its Managing Director, Dele Alabi, we received acknowledgment from CBN that the complaint had been forwarded to Ecobank, and that the outcome of engagement would be communicated to us as soon as possible”.
