AMCON Lists Silverbird Entertainment Centre for Sale Over N10 Billion Debt Linked to Ben Murray-Bruce

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The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has officially listed the Silverbird Entertainment Centre in Abuja for sale, as part of renewed efforts to recover a multi-billion naira debt linked to former senator and media mogul, Ben Murray-Bruce.

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The iconic Abuja mall, located in the highbrow Central Area, Cadastral Zone, is among several distressed assets AMCON is disposing of across Nigeria, including in Lagos, Rivers, Oyo, and Plateau States. A recent public notice from the agency invites bids from interested buyers ahead of the July 11 deadline.

The Silverbird Centre, which houses retail shops, a cinema, restaurants, and office spaces, boasts a gross lettable area of 15,050.91 square metres and is being sold on an \"as-is\" basis.

The mall, formerly operated by Silverbird Entertainment Group, was seized in 2016 following a Federal High Court order due to a debt exceeding N10 billion owed to AMCON by several companies owned by the Murray-Bruce family—namely Silverbird Productions Limited, Silverbird Showtime Limited, and Silverbird Galleria Limited.

In the court ruling, Justice C.M.A. Olatoregun appointed a receiver, Mr. M.A. Banire, to take control of the affected assets and barred Senator Ben Murray-Bruce and his siblings, Guy and Roy, from interfering with the receivership.

Despite efforts at negotiation following the initial seizure, AMCON said the outstanding debt remained unresolved. The agency noted that the sale of the Silverbird property forms part of its broader strategy to recover debts from high-profile obligors who continue to default despite years of legal and financial intervention.

Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, who represented Bayelsa East in the Nigerian Senate from 2015 to 2019, is widely known as the founder of the Silverbird Group—a media and entertainment conglomerate that operates TV and radio stations in Nigeria and Ghana, as well as the Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria (MBGN) pageant.

As of 2017, AMCON revealed that over 400 high-profile debtors accounted for nearly N4.5 trillion—approximately 80% of its total outstanding obligations. The Corporation has since intensified its recovery strategy through public auctions, court orders, and partnerships with legal and financial consultants.

Bids for the Abuja mall and other listed properties are being coordinated by AMCON’s approved agents. Interested buyers have been urged to visit the agency’s official website for further details.

Efforts to reach Mr Murray-Bruce for comment on the impending sale were unsuccessful as he did not respond to inquiries at the time of filing this report.