N52m debt: Company effects court judgement on Ex-Minister’s hotel

Four power generating sets belonging to Mirage Hotels, owned by Chief Edem Duke, former Minister for Culture and Tourism have been carted away by Sypet Oil and Chemical Limited over an alleged N52 million debt.
Eric Utang, counsel to Sypet Oil, explained that the company got judgment from a Cross River State High Court sitting in Calabar, presided over by Justice Ofem I.



Ofem had in October 2014 ordered Mirage Hotels to pay the balance of N2,937,600, representing balance for the money owed the company for supply of diesel, AGO, and N1,050.000 being cost of action, including solicitors fees amounting to the total sum of N3,987,600, which Mirage has failed to pay.


He said: “The judgement ordered the defendant to pay within three months from October 30, 2014 the day the judgment was delivered and failure to do that shall attract 3% interest on the judgment sum per month of default till liquidation of the entire judgement debt.”

He said between October 2014 and August 2016, the judgement sum and the interest have accumulated to N52m, which from all indications Mirage was not ready to settle which prompted Sypet Oil to enforce the court’s judgement by carting away items from the hotel which could be disposed off to settle the debt after seven days.

“In July this year, we got a Garnishee Order signed by Justice Emanuel Ayade for us to confiscate the money in the hotel’s accounts but all the money found in Mirage accounts was not up to 2% of the debt, which prompted us to execute judgement by carting away the generating sets which could be sold after seven days to settle the debt.”