Post by Arise News (@arisenews)
Supreme Court Sets Aside Order Freezing Nestoil, Neconde's Assets
The Supreme Court has set aside an order of the Court of Appeal freezing the assets of Neconde Energy and Nestoil over an alleged $2billion indebtedness to FBNQuest Merchant Bank Limited and First Trustees Limited.
A five-member panel of the apex court in a judgment on Monday, held that the three-member panel of the appellate court went beyond its powers in granting an ex parte application against the oil firms.
Justice Stephen Adah in the lead judgment faulted the appellate court for assuming jurisdiction and issuing an injunction against Neconde and Nestoil, when the matter was not properly before it.
Besides, the Supreme Court accused the appellate court of misuse of the judicial process, particularly when the Court of Appeal, issued a stay of proceedings, disrupting the main case at the Federal High Court, Lagos Division.
The Apex Court held that granting an interim injunction when an appeal had not been entered was totally out of place and 'misconceived.' It added that the action of the Court of Appeal therefore amounted to having two courts handling same matter at the same time.
The Supreme Court further expressed dismay that the ex parte order by the Appeal Court was without any legal justification, adding it constitutes an misuse of judicial process.
Granting of ex parte orders, the Apex Court noted, had been a source of 'legitimate concern' at the trial courts, and now having the Court of Appeal join the fray is now even 'more worrying.' The five-member panel said there were special circumstances or any form of urgency warranting the Appellate Court's granting of the ex parte order freezing the assets of the appellants.
The Apex Court thereby deemed the appeal of Neconde Energy and Nestoil as 'meritorious' and therefore 'allowed'.
The dispute stems from debt recovery proceedings instituted by lenders, including FBNQuest Merchant Bank Limited and First Trustees Limited, against Nestoil and Neconde Energy over financing arrangements tied to oil assets and operations.
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