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Paris Club: Again, court summons Emefiele over $53m judgement debt

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Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday, ordered the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, to appear on July 19 over a $53 million judgment debt arising from the Pars Club refund.

The judge, who gave the order during the hearing of a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1193/2017, insisted that the court would not hear Emefiele’s motion for a stay of action until he appeared in court.

Ekwo had on October 20, 2022, ordered the CBN governor to appear in court on January 18 over his alleged refusal to obey the order for the payment of the judgment debt in favour of a legal practitioner, Joe Agi (SAN).

Agi had dragged Linas International Limited, minister of finance and CBN to court following an application for garnishee made by him as judgment creditor in the case.

At Tuesday’s proceeding, Agi’s counsel, Ayodele Arotiowa, recalled that Emefiele has not obeyed the court’s previous invitation.

Audu Anuga (SAN), who appeared for Emefiele and CBN, replied that the court did not sit on the last adjourned date.

“There is an intervening circumstance which we have brought to the attention of the court by the filing of an affidavit of fact,” he said.

READ ALSO: Emefiele in fresh trouble as court summons CBN governor over $53m Paris club debt

The judge then asked when the appeal was filed by Anuga.

“The appeal was filed on the 28th day of October 2022,” the lawyer responded.

Anuga told the court that they had a pending application to set aside those order nisi.

In his remark, Justice Ekwo: “I am not going to hear you on any application until Mr. Godwin Emefiele appears in court.

“Therefore, I am going to give you a date for you to report to the court in compliance with the order of the court.

“Upon being aware that the motion for stay of execution is a live matter in this court, this court shall not hear that application unless and until Mr. Godwin Emefiele who has been ordered to appear in court appears in court.”

He adjourned the matter till July 19.

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