A Federal High Court in Lagos has further adjourned, till March 18, 2015, hearing in a suit filed by Diamond Bank Plc seeking to recover an alleged debt of over N26bn from a popular businessman, Sunny Odogwu.

Already by a court order of mareva injunction, Odogwu’s personal and business accounts in 19 commercial banks in Nigeria had been frozen.

The court barred him and his companies – Robert Dyson & Diet Limited and SIO Properties Limited – from making any forms of funds withdrawal from their accounts.

The adjournment on Monday followed the request by Diamond Bank’s lawyer, Oluwakemi Balogun, for time to respond to the defendants’ preliminary objection to the suit.

Balogun had informed Justice Saliu Saidu that his office received the defendants’ preliminary objection around 5pm last week Friday, adding that he needed time to respond to same.

Consequently Saidu adjourned till March 18.

In an affidavit deposed by its Relationship Manager, one Fanen Shambe, Diamond Bank averred that the defendants approached the bank sometime in 2007 to obtain a loan in the sum of N26,229,943,035.22.

According to Shambe, the defendants said the facility was for the purpose of building one “Luxury Collection Hotels and Apartments, formerly known as Le Meridian Grand Tower at Number 31-35, Ikoyi Crescent, Ikoyi, Lagos.”

The loan was said to be obtained in the name of SOI Properties Limited, to which Odogwu was the chairman and beneficial majority owner.

Apart from Odogwu and his companies, the other defendants in the suit are the Corporate Affairs Commission, the Registrar of Title, Federal Land Registry, and Leadway Trustees Limited.

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