The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has adjourned to March 25 when it will consider the application seeking to adjourn sine die (indefinitely) the proceedings in the case of an alleged $225.8m debt owed First Bank Nig. Ltd & FBN Quest Trustees Ltd by an oil and gas company firm, General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL).
Justice Deinde Dipeolu fixed the date after listening to the submissions of parties who told the court that they had appealed the last ruling which set aside the ex-parte order freezing the assets and accounts of General Hydrocarbons Limited.
The ruling of the court delivered on January 29th had elicited different interpretations from parties in the suit and eventually culminated in the appeals.
While First Bank appealed against the discharge of Mareva order against Global Hydrocarbons, and also applied for an injunction and/or suspension of the order pending the determination of the appeal, GHL asked the Court of Appeal for an order striking out or dismissing First Bank’s suit for lack of jurisdiction, for being in gross abuse of the process of the lower court and for want of a reasonable cause of action.
At the resumption of proceedings before Justice Dipeolu on Wednesday, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Victor Ogude, who appeared for First Bank told the judge that the matter was adjourned for the court to decide the order of proceedings especially as there were pending applications before the court.
The counsel confirmed that he had been served with an application for a stay of proceedings before the lower court and a verifying affidavit on the entry of the 2nd-5th defendant’s appeal which he would like to react to.
He asked the judge to grant an adjournment to enable him file his reply and to address the court on the propriety of staying the proceedings.
In his response, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Olumide Aju who appeared for the 2nd -5th Defendants, (Nduka Obaigbena & the other directors of GHL) informed the court that his clients appealed a part of the ruling contesting whether the case could continue pending appeal.
Aju asked the lower court to adjourn “sine die” pending the matter at the court of appeal.
After listening to the parties, Justice Dipeolu adjourned till March 25 to consider the process to be filed by Ogude and to decide on whether or not to adjourn sine die.
