The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC has appealed to Nigerian lawyers to support its efforts in defunct bank asset recovery, citing the example of the defunct Heritage Bank.
The Managing Director of NDIC, Bello Hassan, made this appeal recently while speaking at a sensitization seminar for external solicitors in Abuja.
This comes as Hassan emphasized the critical role of lawyers in the liquidation process, noting that recovering these assets is essential for settling uninsured deposits, contractor claims, and liquidation dividends to investors.
“The recent failure of Heritage Bank highlighted the intricate nature of bank liquidation and the vital role of collaboration with our external solicitors. Liquidation, by its nature, is intertwined with litigation,” he said.
He further explained that the NDIC engages in legal proceedings both as a plaintiff and a defendant, representing depositors and creditors while pursuing debt recovery from debtors of closed banks.
“The recovery of these debts and the realization of assets are crucial to achieving our corporate objectives. Beyond paying insured sums from the Corporation’s Deposit Insurance Funds (DIF), the NDIC, as liquidator, is also obligated to settle uninsured portions of deposits and all legitimate creditor claims from the realized assets of the insured institution in liquidation.”
Recall that in June 2024, the Central Bank of Nigeria revoked the license of Heritage Bank due to poor financial performance.
Following this, the NDIC commenced asset recovery for Heritage Bank and began payments to the defunct bank’s customers.
Heritage Bank: NDIC makes fresh demands from Nigerian lawyers
