1 thought on “[E-BOOK] Debtor’s Defense Playbook: Practical Essays for Facing Banks and AMCON”

1. Lateef, I honestly feel that you should not have created defences for debtors. A normal person with integrity must be able to fashion out how to settle his or her debts and keep to the arrangement.

   First and foremost, Banks need not give credit to those who have inadequate collaterals. By raising defences for debtors who are obviously helpless or planless on how to pay back their credits, you are giving those banks doing the wrong things the nod for granting loans without adequate collaterals, contrary to CBN’s Policies on Lending. This factor alone has no doubt, led to the collapse of many Banks. Oh yes! I know that you clearly remember the case of Nigeria’s Failed Banks in 1999.

   Dear, are you saying that you can publish defences for people charged for murder, especially if every evidence has been proved beyond reasonable doubt that they are guilty of murder and have been sentenced to death? Now, if the sentence is from a High Court, they definitely can appeal their conviction till they get to the Supreme Court. And they would likely want to exercise that option of appealing the decision of the lower court before a higher one. But is it now for you to raise defences for the guilty? I think not. Now, let’s let go of murder cases, since you are talking of Amcon and its Debtors whose issues, I believe should be largely civil in nature, but only turns into criminal matters once they abscond.

   I sincerely believe that you should be supporting the right parties, especially those cheated. A Bank gets cheated when a debtor brings up excuses for default because when the debtor was helpless, he or she didn’t tell the bank that he or she would default. Or else, the bank will not give the loan to him or her.

   Debtors should be the ones to bring up their own defences by themselves when charged to court. For example, if a bank official collects a reasonable percentage of the loan being given to the borrower or customer of the bank as a condition for release of the loan, the customer may default if that amount given the bank official prevents him from executing the intended business (for which he took the loan) and make reasonable profits. When the bank charges him or her to court, he or she can expose the bank by making it clear that his reason for default was that a reasonable percentage was collected from him as part of his reason for not providing sufficient collateral for the loan; or that he gave adequate collateral, but because he needed cash badly and urgently for his or her business, the bank credit officer or manager decided to cut out of his or her money and still gave him or her the assurance that he would do well with the money remaining and still make profits. And later, things didn’t work out that way. The bank Staff would then be sanctioned because the banks through bad leadership with serious appetite for corruption contribute largely to borrowers defaulting on repayment of loans. We need to sanitize the banking and entire financial system. In a few cases, no bribe may be involved, but a borrower may be given that self recognition of having fame and granted a loan after providing inadequate collateral. When he or she fails to pay back, the bank Staff involved should still be sanctioned. Fame must be divorced from securing a loan with the ability to pay back. Credit worthiness is the most important factor for consideration on issues of loan, and not if a person or his or her company is well known or not to the populace. Sone famous companies are known to have collapsed in years past, afterall!.

   For the likes of business people who mobilize innocent investors and use their monies after promising good profits, when they begin to default and run away to the extent of not being within reach anymore, they should be allowed to face the law as terrible rogues which they eventually turn out to become. At this point, they equally turn themselves into debtors who are on the run. Please, do not create defences for them because they are equally debtors as well. And they would be glad you published something that can be an escape route for their crime and thievery. Of course, they would want to read it. Don’t mind that you are talking of Amcon or even Bank debtors. A debtor is a debtor once there’s every evidence that he or she owes someone, a group of persons, a legal entity, a partnership or even an Institution and a country. Sone debtors don’t run away while others are on the run. Those on the run are thieves and criminals. Those owning up may not be thieves, but may really have had one reason or the other as to why their loans end up as non-performing loans in the banks. Whatever be the case, whether one is an innocent/truthful and bold debtor that shows up when needed or a run away armed thief debtor, the fact remains that there’s nothing left of a debtor’s integrity, except he or she pays up all her debts at the agreed time.
   I want you to please remember that this e-book would go worldwide, much farther than you may anticipate. Do not let your intention for it be misunderstood to aid criminals worldwide, as debtors all over the world are looking for easy way out. I will not even advise you to launch it, to be candid.

   AMCON knows you have clients among their debtors, but you don’t have to publish defences for them electronically or otherwise. It’s already enough that you are defending them in court.

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