All Kanu's bank accounts in Nigeria frozen after he fails to repay Skye Bank £3m loan

FORMER Super Eagles skipper Nwankwo Kanu has had a federal high court in Lagos freeze all his accounts with commercial banks in Nigeria frozen as a result of his failure to pay back a loan of N924.78m (£3m) taken out with Skye Bank to buy properties.

 

Apart from Kanu others affected by the order given by Justice Okon Abang are is company, The Hardley Apartments and a director of the company, Ayoola Gam-Ikon. Their accounts are to remain frozen pending the hearing of a debt recovery suit filed against them by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (Amcon).

 

In an affidavit filed in support of the suit and sworn to by an Amcon credit officer Victor Igabor, it was alleged that sometime between May, 2008 and 10 January, 201, Skye Bank offered The Hardley Apartments a loan of N520,457,000. Owned by Kanu, the company is engaged in the hospitality business and is located at Plot 46, Waziri Ibrahim Crescent, Victoria Island, Lagos.

 

This loan was secured as a mortgage on the company’s three blocks of 40 accommodation units with estimated open market value of N395m as well as unconditional personal, joint and several guarantees of Mr Gam-Ikon and Kanu. However, the defendants failed to repay the loan with the accrued interest despite repeated demands.

 

Consequently, Skye Bank assigned the defendants' indebtedness in the sum of N558,313,905.37 as at 1 April, 2011 to Amcon as a toxic bank asset in line with its establishment objective. Amcon has subsequently taken Kanu to court and secured an order freezing his accounts.