LAGOS - A Lagos High Court sitting in Yaba on Thursday adjourned an alleged forgery suit filed against Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) until May 28 for adoption of final written addresses.
Justice Ezekiel Ashade adjourned until May 28, after the defence closed its case.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of RCN Network Ltd, Alhaji Si-Nuraini Abiola, had dragged GTB and others to court over alleged forgery of Tripartite Legal Mortgage (TLM).
While Mr Abiola is the second claimant, his company is the first claimant in the suit.
Other respondents in the suit marked: LD/6148LMW/18 were Registrar of Titles, Lagos State Land Bureau, Seinde Fadeni, GMT Energy Resources Ltd, Attorney General of Lagos State and Sanctum Hospitalities Ltd.
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Abiola, who is the petitioner, with his company, had alleged that the bank had registered a default indebtedness position in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Debtor's Registration Portal in the amount of N257 million debit against RCN's name, which were untrue and unfounded.
The petitioner alleged that bank forged the TLM by swapping the properly signed TLM he had previously executed with respect to his Banana Island Property, for the TLM he had prepared for the Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi property, which he did not signed.
He also alleged that the bank transposed the title documents of Banana Island property which was a 12 paged document onto a nine-page document as listed on the letter footer.
"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," the petitioner submitted.
When the case was called on Thursday, the legal officer of GTB, Mr Nicolas Igwebuike, who was the first defence witness, continued his cross-examination by the claimant's counsel, Dr. Charles Adeogun-Phillips.
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Igwebuike confirmed to the court that the cover page of Exhibits C6 and D16 did not indicate the first claimant (RCN network) as a mortgagor in the documents.
The claimant's counsel asked the witness that what appeared on the consent page was a mistake but the witness said there seemed to be a switch of the party.
Adeogun-Phillips further asked the witness if there was an acknowledgement that the second claimant (Abiola) submitted the TLM tripartite mortgage to Lagos State Government for processing and not GTB.
The witness confirmed he did not see the acknowledgement on Exhibit C12, but that there was one on Exhibit D16.
The counsel further showed the witness a letter addressed to the commissioner of police, Special Fraud Unit, Ikoyi for the attention of ACP OhIkeie Idris.
The lawyer to the bank, Mr Noris Quakers, SAN, however objected that the witness could not be examined on documents he did not tender in evidence.
Adeogun-Phillips, thereafter, withdrew the question and argued that the basis for asking the question was to tender a four-affidavit of non-service of subpoena on Idris.
Although Quakers opposed the admissibility of the affidavits, the judge admitted them in evidence.
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