The tension currently brewing in the Ibru family eventually blew open Tuesday when Mrs Maiden Ibru, the widow of the late publisher of The Guardian Newspaper, Chief Alex Ibru, approached a Federal High Court in Lagos with an application seeking to wind up Federal Palace Hotel over a N2 billion debt.
Federal Palace Hotel, owned by Tourist Company of Nigeria, was co-founded by Alex Ibru with two of his brothers, Goodie and Michael.
In the petition filed by Tunji Braithwaite, Omamo Investment Corporation wants Tourist Company of Nigeria to be wound up pursuant to the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matter Act, 2004.
It also wants the court to appoint a provisional liquidator in the person of the President of the Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) to supervise the winding up of the company.
The company averred that between 2003 and 2009, it lent Tourist Company of Nigeria various sums of money - $7.1 million, N610 million, N381 million and N19 million respectively - which it had refused to off-set.
It added that it had several times approached the respondent either personally or through its lawyer, Messrs Tunji Braithwaite & Co., for it to repay the loans but it had failed to respond positively.
Omamo contended that from the evidence at its disposal, the respondent was insolvent and does not have sufficient assets to meet its liabilities or the capacity to meet the conditions for which it was incorporated.
It added that the respondent’s cash flow and balance sheet have shown that it had not been effectively carrying out its hospitality business.
However, the respondent, Tourist Company of Nigeria, in its preliminary objection, urged the court to strike out the petition on the ground that it was incompetent.
The company contended that not only did the suit not disclose any reasonable cause of action against it, it was also an abuse of court process.
The respondent also disclosed that in the ordinary course of business, it took loans and advances from trade creditors and business associates.
While it admitted that it was a beneficiary of such loans and advances especially from the petitioner, the facilities are long term and resolving which were yet to become due or payable.
It denied its inability to or incapability of meeting its financial obligations as they fall due.
When the case came up for hearing Tuesday, a mild drama occurred as the presiding Judge, Justice Okechukwu Okeke, was forced to hand off the case and transfer the case file to the Chief Judge of the court, Justice Ibrahim Auta.
The drama started when Justice Okeke informed parties in the suit that he had received a letter from elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clarke, urging the court to adjourn the matter indefinitely to enable him facilitate an amicable settlement of the dispute out of court
.
This development did not go down well with the counsel to Omamo, Braithwaite and Maiden, who was present in court.
Braithwaite prayed the court to ignore the letter, saying that Clarke was a busybody since he was not a party in the case.
On his part, counsel to the respondent, Mr. Onyebuchi Aniakor, noted that though he agreed that the writer of the letter is a busybody, he was convinced that it was done with good intention.
He advised the judge to use his discretion to decide the next line of action.
At this stage, Justice Okeke invited a Senior Advocate of
Nigeria (SAN), Chief Kola Awodein, who was in court for another matter, to contribute to the argument as a friend of the court.
In his intervention, Awodein submitted that though the court has jurisdiction over the case, the court must however exercise that discretion in the best interest of the parties and in line with the law.
However, in his short ruling, the judge held that though the writer of the letter was not a party before the court, he would grant a week adjournment to allow for amicable settlement of the case.
After the ruling, Braithwaite told the judge that they had already written to the Chief Judge of the court to withdraw the case file from him as they no longer had confidence with the way he was handling the case.
This development angered the judge who said that he would hand off the case right there, adding that he had no interest in it.
He added that as an African and a Nigerian, he felt that such family matter should be settled at home and not in the open court.
While this was going on, Mrs. Ibru stood up to say that the case was filed two weeks before her husband died and that before he died, he vowed to pursue the matter to a logical conclusion whether dead or alive.
-Thisday

Monkey don work finish, now Baboon wan come chop and die there!

This has been there for ages. I hope Nigerians, especially our politicians, would learn lessons from this - 1Tim 6:6-7 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

The dead man is gone and the same fate awaits the other 2 brothers including you and me. The only thing they need to do is to follow what God told Hezekiah - 2Ki_20:1 & Isa_38:1 In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. This issue of running from pillar to post in search of money (through legal and illegal means) is not it at all.

He added that as an African and a Nigerian, he felt that such family matter should be settled at home and not in the open court.
While this was going on, Mrs. Ibru stood up to say that the case was filed two weeks before her husband died and that before he died, he vowed to pursue the matter to a logical conclusion whether dead or alive.

There goes the Ibru family amicability down the loo.
Maiden should have known better than trying to settle this family poo in the courts.
Even that her husband said such before he died, what was his state of health preceding his demise?

Hmm, life.

This Iƨ̣̣̣̇̇̇ ђã†̥ happens when big corporations are run like kiosks. If at all, there should be a CEO covered with insurance replacing him to infinitum.

pls who is dis edwin clarke guy. he talks 2much andwat is the meaning of elderstatesman. Naija

Is this how they will quarrel over the Guardian and Alex Ibru's other businesses in Lagos? This is really sad, especially as the patriarch, Olorogun Michael Ibru is still alive and kicking.

Aarin omo iya to'ntoro, omo ale obirin buruku ko tii wobe ni. Quite a number of our women are family unity destroyers, I'm sorry to say. I have listened to an anlysis of the nature of the woman Maiden this morning by an ex staff of Guardian newspaper on a local Tv station, and I know I've encountered such a woman before.

Wound up....how? What happens to shares sold to SA's Suninternational for 10 years?
HA! My sister dey work der o, make dem no try demselves o

This is why all business transactions involving friends, and even family members, should be properly documented and file as a legal document at the court. This is because anything (Death, greed, fraud) can happen tomorrow that will throw the nature of business arrangement or transactions into dispute which can be easily resolved through the presence of legal documents pertaining to such issues.

siobahn: Wound up....how? What happens to shares sold to SA's Suninternational for 10 years?
HA! My sister dey work der o, make dem no try demselves o

She'd better looking for another job.

Useless children

They didn't add a kobo to investing in the property yet they are fighting over it like rabid dogs.

Useless children from a useless mother

Beaf: Is this how they will quarrel over the Guardian and Alex Ibru's other businesses in Lagos? This is really sad, especially as the patriarch, Olorogun Michael Ibru is still alive and kicking.

We both know Michael is alive but definitely not kicking. ℓ̊ really pity Olorogun Michael because his empire is towing the path of the MKO empire. At the end maybe all that will be left is IBAFON, its just a piece of land with almost all the Jetties in apapa ☺ƞ it. God help them. My big cousin who is with Guardian had to leave because of the management style of Maiden.

blink182: We both know Michael is alive but definitely not kicking. ℓ̊ really pity Olorogun Michael because his empire is towing the path of the MKO empire. At the end maybe all that will be left is IBAFON, its just a piece of land with almost all the Jetties in apapa ☺ƞ it. God help them. My big cousin who is with Guardian had to leave because of the management style of Maiden.

The man being alive today is simply by the grace of God. Let me stop there.

Everything is vanity.

Osama10: Everything is vanity.

Very true but we will live this lifetime once. ℓ̊ want all the vanities ℓ̊ can lay my hands ☺ƞ. Fast cars, rare wines, all diamond watch, my own Antilla, my own naval fleet, my own airforce, my private army, my DJIA company. . .hehehe, ℓ̊ want it all cos when ℓ̊ eventually get to heaven, ℓ̊ won't be needing them.

Fighting dirty cos of material things?

Wahala for too much money people

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