Like the fabled Cheshire cat in Lewis Caroll’s literary classic, Alice in Wonderland, Jimoh Ibrahim’s business empire is vanishing gradually. According to a source, he is currently experiencing extreme financial problems. They claim that besides his grounded aircraft, the brash and talkative former billionaire from Ondo state, is unable to salvage his NICON luxury hotels and NICON Insurance from decline.
The hotel is reportedly experiencing declining patronage. And to make matters worse, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) officials are also on his neck; they are allegedly investigating him for tax evasion. Staff of NICON Insurance recently revealed that officials of FIRS invaded the company’s premises recently to paste tax evasion papers on the front and back of the office and up till now, Jimoh Ibrahim has not paid the tax.
The workers added that he now sneaks into Abuja and has been trying to see President Buhari without success. Also, he has not paid back the N35.5 billion Aviation Intervention Fund Loan he allegedly took from the Federal Government on behalf of his moribund airline, Air Nigeria.
If these claims and revelations are anything to go by, these are indeed the worst of times for Jimoh Ibrahim.
However, a Federal High Court in Lagos has granted an interim injunction to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria to take over some assets belonging to Ibrahim, over an alleged indebtedness of N50bn. Justice Saliu Saidu, who made the order following an application to that effect by AMCON’s lawyer, Mr. Yusuf Ali (SAN), said the order would subsist until a suit filed by AMCON against Ibrahim and his companies was fully determined. The companies affected by the seizure order included NICON Investment Limited and Global Fleet Oil and Gas Limited.
Also affected by the order were Ibrahim’s Nigeria Re-Insurance Company Plc, NICON Insurance Company Plc, Nigeria Stockbrokers Limited and NICON Trustees Limited.
The judge also restrained Ibrahim and the companies from making any withdrawal from all their known bank accounts pending the determination of the suit by AMCON.
AMCON claimed that NICON Investment Limited, Global Fleet Oil and Gas Limited and Ibrahim were indebted to it to the tune of over N50bn, resulting in “protracted negotiations and court battles.”
The new application to seize the defendants assets in Abuja, Lagos, Dubai and London, AMCON said, followed its renewed efforts to recover the alleged debt.
The corporation claimed that it was owed over N4.5tn by about 400 obligors, which it said had become “recalcitrant despite obvious efforts of the corporation.”
“To deal with the situation, however, AMCON recently increased the tempo of its recovery activities using firmer negotiation strategies as well as utilising the special enforcement powers vested by the AMCON Act to compel some of its debtors, especially those that are politically exposed and business heavyweights, to repay their debts,” it said.
