.Demands release of audited accounts
.Says funds owed to estate of late founder
Sunday Ehigiator
Financial Trust Group has accused the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) of withholding liquidation surpluses and dividends due to the estate of its late founder, William Olufemi Olateju Ajayi, for more than 30 years following the liquidation of Financial Merchant Bank Limited and Republic Bank Limited in 1994 and 1995, respectively.
The group, in a statement yesterday, condemned what it described as the NDIC’s “prolonged and unwarranted refusal” to account for and release the funds, demanding an immediate settlement of all outstanding entitlements due to the late founder’s estate.
It said the corporation had continued to withhold the funds despite statutory provisions requiring the distribution of residual assets to shareholders and contributories after depositors and creditors had been fully paid.
“For over three decades, the NDIC has withheld funds rightfully belonging to the Ajayi family and associated legacy entities, despite statutory mandates requiring the distribution of residual assets to shareholders and contributories once depositors and creditors have been fully settled,” the statement said.
Financial Trust Group further alleged that the corporation had failed to provide a transparent, audited account of the assets realised from the liquidation of the two banks, despite reports indicating that depositors and creditors had long been settled.
“Despite NDIC annual reports confirming that depositors and creditors of the defunct banks have long been fully satisfied, the NDIC has maintained a posture of opacity, refusing to provide a transparent, audited accounting of the asset realizations or to distribute the resulting liquidation surpluses,” it said.
The group traced the dispute to the military era, alleging that the business interests of its late founder were severely affected under the administrations of Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha.
It described Ajayi as a prominent pro-democracy advocate and publisher of The Republic, a newspaper that supported the presidential ambition of the late Chief Moshood Abiola under the Hope ’93 mandate.
According to the group, the military regimes repeatedly proscribed Ajayi’s publications, targeted his businesses and eventually revoked the operating licences of the two banks.
“The Babangida and Abacha regimes repeatedly proscribed his publications, hunted his enterprises, and ultimately engineered the revocation of the banks’ operating licences in January 1994 and June 1995, even as orderly rescue and acquisition offers were underway,” the statement added.
Financial Trust Group said the prolonged dispute had continued to impose a burden on the family and the institutional legacy of its late founder, despite the contributions of the company to Nigeria’s financial markets.
The group’s parent company, Financial Trust Company Nigeria Limited, marked its 50th anniversary in May 2026.
Founded in 1976, the company said it holds the distinction of being the first indigenous stockbroking firm admitted as a dealing member of the Lagos Stock Exchange.
While acknowledging recent developments in Nigeria’s capital market and the Federal Government’s ambition to build a $1 trillion economy, the group said the unresolved dispute remained a concern for accountability in the country’s financial system.
It called on the NDIC management to act in line with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope agenda by providing a full account of the liquidation proceeds and releasing the outstanding funds.
It added, “Financial Trust Group calls upon the management of the NDIC, under the Renewed Hope agenda of the Federal Government, to immediately uphold transparency, adhere to statutory obligations, and disburse all accumulated liquidation surpluses and dividends owed to the Estate of Late Otunba W.O.O. Ajayi without further delay. Justice deferred for 30 years is accountability denied. The financial regulatory framework must honor the integrity of indigenous pioneers who built Nigeria’s financial architecture.”
The NDIC could not be reached for comments as at the time of filing this report.