It will be recalled that Uba and Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited, were among the 113 companies and 419 directors/shareholders that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), listed as AMCON’s debtors.
Banks have since been barred from extending further credit to the debtor-companies and their directors until they repay their loans.
AMCON had earlier approached the court through his counsel, Kemi Balogun, with a motion ex-parte seeking the freezing of all Capital Oil and Gas assets for being indebted to it to the tune of N48.014 billion. The court granted the order as prayed.
But, Capital Oil and Gas had also gone to court through its counsel, Wole Olanipekun and R.A Lawal-Rabana, praying it to vacate the interim order that was made against it, insisting that doing so would be in the interest of the general public.
The company contended that the seizure of its assets would bring hardship on the citizenry, noting that the partial forfeiture order had already resulted in artificial scarcity of petroleum products across the country.
While discharging the order on Wednesday, Justice Abdul Kafarati, said that AMCON did not have to destroy or kill a business concern just because it was owing it some debt.
He upheld the argument of the company’s counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN to the effect that the duty of AMCON was to make sure that debtors pay their debt and not to push them out of business.
The judge also faulted the method adopted by AMCON in securing the ex-parte order freezing the accounts.
Although the judge could not find any section of the AMCON Act he could rely on to vacate the order, he chose to rely on the inherent jurisdictIon of the court and Section 6 (6) of the Constitution.
Justice Kafarati said that it was not in doubt that the company’s business was a going concern when the order was made. He also said that AMCON did not gain anything from the order.
He noted that since AMCON could not dispose the properties while the case was in court, “It is prudent to allow the defendant continue to operate the business and organise how to repay the debt,” the judge said.
The judge said that AMCON should allow the business to go on while the company negotiates how to pay the debt.
According to him, to stop the company from operating might have adverse effect on the economy of the country.
He urged the parties to sit down and agree on how the debt would be repaid instead of shutting down the business.
Justice Kafarati held that,” I thereby the discharge the order November 13 of the applicant’s assets, all parties should meet and see how the debt can be paid and report back to the court on January 15, 2013”.
Tribune
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