THISDAYonline

A call has gone to the Federal Government to overhaul the judiciary and mandate courts to dispense business related cases, especially those associated with borrowing within one week or in not more than two adjournments.

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Fortune International Bank Plc, Mr. Fidelis Tilije made this call yesterday in Lagos at the monthly business forum of the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN).

The Fortune Bank boss who spoke on "The Menace of Bad Bank Debtors and the Role of Government", chided the Federal Government for not rescuing banks from the hands of debtors.

"To be frank, government has failed to protect banks from this menace by few powerful Nigerian debtors who are floating phony companies and moving around the banking sector with the intention of milking depositors' funds under the guise of credit facilities that they had no intention of repaying from the onset", he stressed.

Noting that several big time debtors in Nigeria are also currently enjoying legal protection so as not to repay their debts, the top flight banker berated the law courts for granting frivolous injunctions to shield bad debtors from banks.

"It is only in Nigeria that a court will rule that the creditor(s) are hereby restrained by themselves, their assigns, agents, servants or privies from arresting, detaining or in any manner infringing on the fundamental rights of the debtor on the account of the indebtedness of a company in which the debtor is a sole proprietor and/or Director.

"It is indeed curious that at least 90 per cent of bad bank debtors have gone to the police to get security men to protect factories, homes and their property to prevent foreclosure of lending," he lamented.

The top flight banker commended government's initiatives in establishing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, but urged "the government to revisit the re-introduction of commercial courts where cases involving banks and their customers can be conclusively resolved within one week."

While calling for the full implementation of the bankruptcy laws, he harped on the need for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to publish the directors of all companies whose credit facilities have been provisioned for by banks, using the Credit Bureau system.

"To eradicate this genuine threat, there must be a commitment by all finance sector stakeholders, particularly the federal government through the judiciary mechanism, to condemn and dispassionately bring to book all such borrowers", he added.