Mrs Maiden Ibru, widow of the late publisher of The Guardian newspaper, Alex Ibru, yesterday lost in her bid to wind up Tourist Company of Nigeria Plc, owners of Federal Palace Hotel.
A
Federal High Court in Lagos threw out a suit she filed to wind up the company.Mrs
Ibru, in the suit she filed on behalf of one of her late husband's companies -
Omamo Investment Corporation, wanted Tourist Company wound up for its alleged
inability to settle its indebtedness to Omamo Investment. Justice
Mohammed Liman dismissed the winding up petition on the ground that it was
initiated without compliance with the provisions of the law.He
upheld the argument of the lawyer to the Tourist Company, Onyebuchi Aniakor, to
the effect that the Omamo Investment's letter of demand for the repayment of
the loan, dated September last year was not properly endorsed as required under
Sections 77 and 409 (a) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA).Justice
Liman held that the requirement under Section 409 of CAMA, was that a letter
for demand of the repayment of a loan must be made under the hand of the
creditor in the case of an individual, and must carry the seal of the company
and endorsed by the appropriate agent stipulated in Section 77 of CAMA in the
case of a person.He
held that in this case, the only valid letter of demand tabled before the
court by the petitioner was that dated Sepetember 23 last year, which was
wrongly endorsed by the petitioner's lawyer, Dr. Tunji Braithwate.The
court said Braithwaite, having not fallen into the class of people mentioned in
Section 77 of CAMA, ought not to have signed the said letter.On
that basis, Justice Liman held that the petition failed to satisfy the
threshold requirement for the filing of a winding up petition and accordingly dismissed
Mrs. Ibru's petition.