Alleged Forgery: Whiteplains distance self from First Bank tripartite legal mortgage agreement

The Proprietor of Whiteplains British School Abuja, Dr Francis Nwufoh has distanced himself from a purported tripartite legal mortgage agreement on a N690,368,000million loan obtained by the school in 2014 from First Bank plc.

Dr. Nwufoh in a statement signed on Monday clarified that the bank was only interested in the court order affirming the appointment of a receiver, and was silent on the fact that documents were forged which misled the court in its decision.

He said that all the signatories to the tripartite agreement had deposed to separate affidavits denying knowledge of the said agreement.

He claimed that a staff of the bank, one Muftau O. Ande Esq. allegedly forged the said documents used in preparing the purported agreement.

Nwufoh said with the said tripartite agreement, the bank secured an order of court to appoint a reciever in a bid to take over the school.

Whereas the bank insisted that it got a judgement in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1023/2015, to take over the school by appointment of a reciever, the management of Whiteplains are contending that it used forged documents to obtain the order.

According to him, the so called Tripartite Legal Mortgage was purportedly registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) using the following forged documents.

“A letter dated 7th April 2014 by a Law Firm of LAGARDER and CO Barristers & Solicitors said to be counsel to the bank.

“Earlier a letter from the same Law Firm this time called LAGARDERA and CO Barristers & Solicitors with the same counsel address and phone line but now in the same transaction claiming to be solicitors to an opposite/adverse party, France Lee Nigeria Ltd.

Thus under this disguise, the same Firm applied for filling of the purported signatures of Directors of the said France Lee Nigeria Limited.

“Attached to this two letters above are two affidavits purportedly sworn to by the two Directors of France Lee Ltd before a said Notary Public, Godwin I. lmakhai Esq.

Additionally, the proprietor disclosed that a purported Form CAC 8 (particulars of mortgage), said to have been signed by two of the Directors of France Lee Nigeria Ltd, Mr Chukwuemeka Ibe and Mrs Frances Charity Ibe was forged.

The said tripartite agreement was between First Bank, Whiteplains,and France Lee Nigeria Ltd.

Dr Nwufoh in an affidavit he personally deposed to, averred that he was never a party to the alleged tripartite legal mortgage.

In the affidavit dated 8th August 2018 and sworn to on August 9 at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Dr Nwufoh stated that, “Someone superimposed/forged my signature into the document and used same to secure the judgement in suit no. FHC/ABJ/CS/1023/2015”.

Similarly, Nwufoh’s wife, Mrs Doris, a Director in the school stated in her own affidavit that she was never a party to the agreement.

Also, the owners of France Lee Nigeria Ltd, Mr Chukwuemeka Ibe and Mrs Frances Charity Ibe who inherited the company after the promoter Dr. Ibe died in 2008 had in their depositions denied knowledge of the documents.

They claimed that they neither authorised any person to enter the said agreements on their behalf nor did engage the services of Mr. Dibiaezue Chuks, a lawyer or any lawyer of the law firm of Lagardera and Co Barristers & Solicitors who registered the alleged forged documents.

Also, the deponents averred that they did not know any lawyer by name Muftau O. Ande, who prepared the tripartite agreement.

Nwufoh explained that the two lawyers who were said to have prepared the documents used in the purported tripartite agreement had before the Police washed their hands off the documents, insisting that the purported signatories,

were never known to them, and that they have never in life related in anyway with the purported signatories and that they never at any time presented any document to them to sign.

END.