Lagos Continental Hotel Put Up for Sale at N22bn by AMCON as Supreme Court Upholds Deal

The Supreme Court has upheld the sale of the Lagos Continental Hotel by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON, ending a long legal dispute involving Polaris Bank, 11 Hospitality Plc, and Milan Industries Limited.

The case centred on a loan originally granted by the defunct Skye Bank, now Polaris Bank, to Milan Industries Limited for the construction of the Lagos Continental Hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos. After the loan turned bad, AMCON acquired the debt from Polaris Bank in September 2018 as an eligible bank asset.

Before AMCON took over the loan, the bank had already appointed Kunle Ogunba, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, as Receiver and Manager over Milan Industries to recover the non-performing facility. In that role, he assumed control of the hotel under the legal mortgage tied to the property.

After acquiring the debt, AMCON confirmed Ogunba’s appointment and later sold the hotel to 11 Hospitality Plc for N22 billion, relying on its rights under the mortgage agreement.

Milan Industries challenged the sale in a suit filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos, arguing that AMCON had no right to dispose of the property. The trial court dismissed the suit, but the company went on appeal and got a favourable judgment at the Court of Appeal.

AMCON and the other parties then took the case to the Supreme Court, which has now overturned the Appeal Court’s decision and ruled in AMCON’s favour.

In its judgment, the apex court said the AMCON Act is a special law created to address unique problems in Nigeria’s financial system and should be interpreted in that light. The court also upheld Section 60 of the Act, which exempts AMCON from paying stamp duties, and affirmed that AMCON’s rights as a mortgagee remain valid.

The Supreme Court further held that as long as an outstanding debt exists, AMCON retains a continuing security interest in the mortgaged property. On that basis, it upheld the sale of the Lagos Continental Hotel and affirmed AMCON’s power to dispose of mortgaged assets in the course of debt recovery.

The ruling effectively brings the long-running dispute to a close.