Meet Kolapo Lawson, the wealthy Nigerian whose company is at logger heads with First Bank

Last week, IvoryNG had reported how First Bank of Nigeria sued Common Wealth Consortium and Agbara Estates Ltd at a Federal High Court Lagos over

Last week, IvoryNG had reported how First Bank of Nigeria sued Common Wealth Consortium and Agbara Estates Ltd at a Federal High Court Lagos over N13.4 billion debt. The bank is seeking orders to restrain the six former directors of the firms from dissipating the firms’ assets known as No. 21 Milverton Road, Ikoyi, Lagos and 21.222 Hectares of land at Agbara Estates Phase 3, Agbara, Ogun State pending determination of the suit.

First bank wants the court to grant an injunction ordering the six former directors to yield possession of the assets covered by Mortgage Deeds and deliver to the Receiver/Manager Mr. Oluwakemi Balogun SAN, Statement of accounts, inventory of all Assets, list of debtors and all other documents in their possession.

This is contained in a Motion on Notice in Suit FHC/L/CS//2022. First Bank, Commonwealth Consortium and Agbara Estates (both in Receivership) are the 1st to third plaintiffs in the suit filed by the applicants lawyer, Mr. Balogun.The defendants who are former directors include; Mr. Kayode Ayeni, Mrs. Kikelomo Ayeni, former Ecobank Director Mr. Kolapo Lawson, Mr. Paulo Cruz, Mr. Tunji Lawson and Babatunde Akindele.

The motion claimed that in a bid to avoid repayment of depositors’ funds trapped in their custody, the 1st and 2nd defendants are dissipating their assets, which are personal in nature and taking steps to move all other moveable assets outside the jurisdiction of the court.

One of those who is directly affected by the suit is Kolapo Lawson. The prominent Nigerian is not only a director in one of the companies in the First Bank suit, he is the chairman of Agbara Estates, the second company in the suit.

An unassuming billionaire, Lawson runs one of Nigeria’s biggest indigenous business conglomerates with interests in banking, real estate, manufacturing, food and beverages sector with turnover in several billions.

He was the former chairman of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated with the largest individual stake. He is the Chairman of Agbara Estates Limited, arguably Nigeria’s biggest industrial and residential estate, the Chairman of Vitamalt Plc, CEO, Lawson Corporation, a trading and investment company which was founded by his late father, Chief Adeyemi Lawson, founder of the Grail Movement in Nigeria and several other business concerns he is a member of their boards.

The younger Lawson avoids publicity like a plague which is why it came as a surprise when news broke about a lawsuit instituted against him and several others by the Nigeria’s oldest bank.

Hopefully, he is able to leverage on his wealth and connections to see himself through the travail.