OPINION: The Innoson Vs GTB Saga, A Matter Of Honour

ANDREW ONOJA

The Innoson Motors versus GT Bank Plc story is above everything else, a matter of honour. Here is why I say so:

GT Bank Plc loaned Innoson Motors Chairman, Innocent Chukwuma N2.4 billion to import spare parts for his company. As part of the loan agreement, GT Bank was the exclusive owner of the imported goods. Innoson also agreed that for him to collect the imported goods from the bank, he would pay 25 per cent of the loan amount upfront, as his own equity contribution.

Rather than live up to his honour, Innoson refused to pay the agreed 25 per cent equity contribution upfront. He then approached GT Bank to release the shipping documents without the agreed payment. He told the bank that with the shipping documents, he will be able to sell the good quickly and pay back the loan. But GT Bank refused as this was a fundamental breach of the loan agreement. Innoson now did the worst as he allegedly went and fraudulently cleared all the imported goods belonging to GT Bank by forging the signatures of four staff of the Bank.

Not only did Innoson do those dishonorable things, he also allegedly forged GT Bank’s stamp on all the shipping documents. And as expected, GT Bank reported the matter to the police.

The police confirmed that Innoson deliberately set out to defraud, steal from the Bank. After seeing that he would be charged for forgery and other fraudulent crimes, Innoson approached GT Bank and begged for debt forgiveness. The bank, out of goodwill and to ensure it gets the loan paid, accepted Innoson’s plea of a reduction in interest amount and agreed to forego the sum of N559,374,072.09 which was the total sum of the default charges for his failure to service the loan.

Innoson promised to pay back within 30 days, the sum of N1,095,107,822.95 as full and final payment of his indebtedness to the Bank. Again, Instead of honoring this new agreement, Innoson ran to the Federal High Court, Awka to claim that GTB had debited his account with N559,374,072.09, the exact sum that the bank had forgiven him in default charges. He has continued ever since, to claim falsely that the bank owes him in order to avoid paying back the loan and to evade his criminal trial at the court for fraud, forgery, and other crimes.

That’s why I said that this Innoson Vs GTB story is above everything else, about honour. The matter is very clear, it is a case of debt recovery and betrayal of trust. GT Bank trusted and believed enough in Innoson and Innocent Chukwuma the industrialist to lend him more than N2billion, but instead of repaying GT Bank’s trust by paying up his loan, Innoson has resorted to blackmail in the most dishonourable of ways. Truly, if he had any shred of honour, Innoson would pay back the GTB loan and end this saga.

Andrew Onoja writes from Ikeja, Lagos