A Lagos State High Court in Yaba has adjourned an alleged forgery suit filed against Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) until May 28.
Alhaji Si-Nuraini Abiola, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of RCN Network Ltd., filed the suit, which accused GTB of forging a Tripartite Legal Mortgage (TLM).
Abiola stated that the bank replaced the legally signed TLM he had executed with one he had not signed. Furthermore, the bank is accused of altering the attestation page and transposing the title documents.
Abiola’s corporation is the initial claimant in the lawsuit, and he is the second.
Other respondents in the suit LD/6148LMW/18 were the Registrar of Titles, the Lagos State Land Bureau, Seinde Fadeni, GMT Energy Resources Ltd, the Attorney General of Lagos State, and Sanctum Hospitalities Ltd.
The petitioner claimed that the bank reported a default indebtedness status in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Debtor’s Registration Portal in the sum of N257 million deducted from RCN’s name, which was false and unjustified.
He stated that the bank faked the TLM by replacing the legally signed TLM he had previously produced for his Banana Island property with the TLM he had created for the Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi property, which he did not sign.
The petitioner further claimed that the bank translated the 12-page title documents for the Banana Island property into a nine-page document, as mentioned in the letter footer.
He said, “It was registered under the Federal Government of Nigeria by altering the attestation page through whiting-out segments on the said page and then manually inserting altercations therein with a typewriter.”
When the trial resumed, GTB’s legal officer, Mr Nicolas Igwebuike, the first defence witness, commenced his cross-examination by the claimant’s attorney, Dr Charles Adeogun-Phillips.
Igwebuike acknowledged to the court that the first claimant (the RCN network) was not identified as a mortgagor on the cover pages of Exhibits C6 and D16.
The claimant’s counsel asked the witness if what was shown on the consent page was a mistake, but the witness stated that there appeared to be a swap of parties.
Adeogun-Phillips also asked the witness if it was recognized that the second claimant (Abiola) submitted the TLM tripartite mortgage to the Lagos State Government rather than GTB for processing.
The witness stated that he did not see the acknowledgement on Exhibit C12, but there was one on Exhibit D16.
The counsel also presented the witness with a letter addressed to the commissioner of police, Special Fraud Unit, Ikoyi, to the care of ACP Ohikeie Idris.
However, the bank’s counsel, Mr Noris Quakers, SAN, argued that the witness could not be cross-examined on papers that he had not presented in evidence.
Adeogun-Phillips withdrew the question, claiming that the reason for asking it was to submit a four-page affidavit of non-service of subpoena to Idris.
The judge permitted them as evidence despite Mr Quakers’ opposition to the affidavits’ admission.
The matter was then adjourned for the adoption of final written addresses after the defence closed its case.
