Ecobank Drags Sahara Group to Court Over N3.3bn Debt

• Ecobank Drags Sahara Group to Court Over N3.3bn Debt

Ecobank Nigeria Limited on Tuesday dragged one of the nation’s leading oil companies, Sahara Group Limited to court in Lagos for failing to pay $9.1 million or N3.3 billion it owes the lender.

In a motion filed on January 23, the bank urged the Federal High Court in Lagos to order Sahara Group Limited to pay $9,125,119.34, part of the total amount owed to the bank.

According to Ecobank, Sahara Energy Resources Limited, Isle of Man, and Sahara Group Limited owed a total sum of $14,069,458.30, “being the principal sum and interest due to the counter-claimant as of 21st August 2019”.

While the bank said Sahara Group had agreed to pay $9,125,119.34 “as full and final settlement of their indebtedness”.

The lender is demanding $14,069,458.30 as the actual debt as of August 21, 2019.

Mr Obinna Divine, Insolvency Forte, counsel to the bank, is also praying the court to order Sahara Group to pay additional $5,069,458.30.

Obinna said that is “the outstanding correspondence to the defendant in tandem with the offer letters of the 1st of May, 2016 and other subsisting agreements between the parties”.