Stock Brokerage Firm Slams N1.8b Suit On Oyedepo, Winners Chapel, Others

Stock Brokerage Firm Slams N1.8b Suit On Oyedepo, Winners Chapel, Others

A Lagos based stock brokerage firm, Valueline Securities and Investment Limited has slammed a N1.8 billion suit on the founder of Living Faith Church, popularly known as Winners Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo and ten others over an alleged breached of agreement on a multi-billion naira investment within the Nigerian stock market.

The firm, which filed the suit alongside its Managing Director, Samuel Enyinnaya are urging the court presided over by Justice Mohammed Yunusa to order Oyedepo and other defendants to pay the sum as compensation for the losses it incurred while managing the investment.

Apart from Oyedepo other defendants in the suit are: Living Faith Church, World Mission Agency Inc (the overall ruling organ of the church), Covenant University, David Oyedepo Foundation, Mrs Faith Abiola Oyedepo (Oyedepo's wife), Joys Priscillia Oyedepo, Love Jesutobi Oyedepo, David Makinde Oyedepo, Isaac Oyedepo (all Oyedepo's children and blood relatives) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

The plaintiffs, in its statement of claim attached to the suit, alleged that the Oyedepo his relatives and organisations, who are the first to tenth defendants in the suit, had approached them and indicated intention to make investment in the Nigerian stock market and eventually appointed the plaintiffs as the portfolio managers of the said investments.

The plaintiffs also claimed that an Investment Portfolio Management Agreement (IPMA) was subsequently signed between the plaintiffs and the first to tenth defendants whereby the plaintiffs were given far reaching powers to exercise discretion and use do everything within the ambit of the law to ensure profitability of investment and equally give periodic reports.

The plaintiffs further stated that 2.25 percent of the net asset value of the portfolio and annual incentive fee agreed at 10 percent of the returns on the investment were also agreed as part of the IPMA, after which the first to tenth defendants released N9 billion to the plaintiffs on installmental basis.

The plaintiffs averred that in order to enhance profitability of the investment, the plaintiffs took some margin loans from banks in Nigeria which turned out to be very lucrative for Oyedepo and his organisations, and that period reports to that effect were equally submitted.

However, the plaintiffs lamented that at a point when Oyedepo wanted to buy his first private jet, World Mission Agency Inc ordered the sale of majority of the securities in the investment portfolio, and that despite professional advice to the contrary, they were made to sell the securities to raise the N3 billion needed for the jet, a development which brought about huge losses to the investment.

The sale of the securities coupled with the global economic meltdown which caused stock market in the world over to crash, according to the plaintiffs eventually made the investment portfolio to experience more losses.

The plaintiff further claimed that in a bid to avoid their financial obligations to them, Oyedepo and his organisations wrote a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alleging fraud and embezzlement against them.

After six years of investigation without any indictment by the EFCC, the plaintiffs alleged that Oyedepo used his "religious denominational connection" in the NSE to drag them before the NSE on the ground that their investment portfolio was mismanaged and that margin loans were taken by the plaintiffs without the consent of the first to tenth defendants.

The trial within the NSE, according to the plaintiffs, was conducted in prejudicial manner, a development they claimed necessitated the suit.

The plaintiffs is therefore seeking order of the court declaring that the NSE had been conducting the trial before it in a manner prejudicial to their fundamental right to fair hearing. 

The plaintiffs also want the court to reverse the malicious freezing of their trading accounts which was done by the NSE.

In the breakdown of monetary compensation, the plaintiffs urged the court to compel NSE to pay them N61 million for the closure of their accounts and an order compelling the first to tenth defendants to pay them N780 million, being their unpaid professional fees for managing their investment portfolio. In addition, the plaintiffs want N1 billion damages jointly and severally against the defendants for the trauma and psychological torture and loss of reputation occasioned to them by the actions of the defendants as well as N25 million solicitors fees and cost of action.

But in a preliminary objection, the NSE insisted that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit as same ought to have been filed before the Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST) and not the Federal High Court.

The NSE also argued that the plaintiffs failed to filed the mandatory pre-action notice before filing the suit.           
Justice Yunusa had adjourned the case till February 16 for hearing.