By Oluyinka Onigbinde
More than a decade after the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) embarked on an aggressive debt recovery drive that led to its take-over ships, tank farms, jetties and other strategic maritime assets belonging to indebted obligors, many of the assets remain trapped in prolonged litigation and receivership.
The development has raised fresh concerns over the effectiveness of the Corporation’s debt recovery strategy and its impact on Nigeria’s maritime industry.
Investigation by Shipping Position Daily reveals that while AMCON has made progress in recovering bad loans across several sectors of the economy, a number of maritime-related assets worth billions of naira have remained tied down in legal disputes many years after they were seized, leaving vessels idle and strategic maritime assets underutilised.
Industry stakeholders fear that the prolonged court processes are gradually eroding the value of assets that were once central to Nigeria’s indigenous shipping and petroleum logistics sectors.
One of the most significant recoveries involved businessman Jimoh Ibrahim’s Global Fleet Group. In November 2020, AMCON, acting on an order of the Federal High Court, took possession of 12 companies and assets linked to Ibrahim over an alleged indebtedness of ₦69.4 billion. The assets included companies with interests in shipping, oil logistics and other strategic sectors.
Although Ibrahim challenged the receivership, the Court of Appeal in 2023 dismissed his appeal and affirmed AMCON’s takeover, leaving the assets under the Corporation’s control pending the conclusion of the debt recovery process. Nearly six years after the takeover, aspects of the matter remain unresolved, with the assets still under receivership.
Another major maritime-related case is that of Morlap Shipping Line, one of Nigeria’s indigenous shipping companies founded by maritime veteran shipowner; Chief Isaac Jolapomo. The company allegedly lost ownership of some of its vessels following AMCON’s debt recovery action in the early 2010s over indebtedness whose value was never publicly disclosed.
More than a decade later, ownership disputes involving some of the vessels are yet to be conclusively resolved, with no public record indicating that the assets have either been returned to the owners or finally disposed of.
Similarly, offshore support vessels belonging to Rangk Limited, a company associated with the late Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, became subjects of AMCON’s debt recovery exercise in late 2000. While substantial aspects of the debt recovery have reportedly been concluded, ownership issues involving some of the vessels have lingered.
The shipping and logistics assets linked to maritime entrepreneur Dr. Mkgeorge Onyung have also remained the subject of prolonged legal proceedings following AMCON’s appointment of receivers over alleged indebtedness. The matter has generated multiple court actions over the years without any publicly reported final resolution.
Beyond vessels, AMCON’s debt recovery portfolio also includes specialised maritime infrastructure such as tank farms, jetties and petroleum logistics facilities, many of which became subject of receivership, following defaults on non-performing loans. These assets, like vessels, are strategic national infrastructure whose prolonged inactivity has continued to generate concern among industry operators.
Shipping Position Daily gathered that although some assets have been sold over the years, several others remain tied down by litigation, receivership disputes or prolonged debt recovery proceedings, preventing them from contributing meaningfully to economic activities.
Speaking with Shipping Position Daily, maritime lawyer; Alexander Afolalu said the prolonged legal disputes highlight the urgent need to reform the way maritime asset recovery cases are handled in Nigeria.
“As a lawyer, I believe the key issue is that maritime assets are wasting assets. A vessel tied up in litigation for years will continue to depreciate in value, which ultimately hurts everyone involved,” he said.
“I think we need faster and more specialized procedures for maritime and asset-recovery disputes. There should be dedicated judges or divisions with expertise in admiralty and commercial matters, as well as stricter timelines to prevent unnecessary delays and endless interlocutory applications.
“I also believe the courts should be more willing to preserve the value of assets during litigation, whether through receivership, interim management, or even a court-approved sale where appropriate. In addition, greater use of mediation and arbitration can help resolve disputes more quickly.
“At the end of the day, justice should not only determine who is right; it should also ensure that valuable maritime assets do not waste away while parties wait for a final judgment.”
Also reacting, maritime expert and former acting President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, Dr. Kayode Farinto, said one of the greatest shortcomings in maritime asset disputes is the failure to preserve the value of the assets while litigation drags on.
“One of the biggest problems with maritime asset disputes is that we often focus so much on the litigation that we forget about the asset itself. A vessel is a commercial asset. Every day it remains tied up in a dispute, it is losing value, incurring costs and becoming less useful to whoever eventually succeeds in court,” he said.
“We need a system that resolves these disputes much faster. We need judges with specialized maritime expertise, stricter timelines to reduce unnecessary delays, and more practical measures to preserve the value of assets while cases are ongoing. The courts should be able to order interim management or even the sale of an asset so that its value is not completely eroded before judgment is delivered.
“I also believe that AMCON and other stakeholders should make greater use of mediation and negotiated settlements, particularly where prolonged litigation is doing more harm than good.
“So the issue is straightforward: there is little value in winning a case after many years if the asset at the centre of the dispute has already wasted away.”
