Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court in Lagos, on Monday, adjourned till November 30, 2024, the hearing of the suit filed by Barbican Capital Limited against First Bank of Nigeria Holdings Plc, over a dispute concerning N5,386,397,202 shares, valued at approximately N5.3bn.
Barbican Capital, the plaintiff in the suit marked FHC/L/CS/1172/24, claimed to have acquired the shares over time, amounting to 15.1 per cent of FBN Holdings’ shares listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
However, Ecobank Limited, through its lawyer, Adekunle B. Ogunba (SAN), argued that the funds used for the share purchases were allegedly diverted from the sale of Honeywell Flour Mills shares to Flour Mills Nigeria Plc.
Ecobank claimed that this action was an attempt by the Honeywell companies, led by the chairman, Dr Oba Otudeko, to evade debts owed to the bank, despite a Supreme Court ruling in favour of Ecobank.
Ecobank has filed a motion for joinder in the case and has requested that Justice Faji recuse himself, given that he had previously ruled in a separate dispute between Ecobank and Honeywell.
Although Justice Faji found that the Honeywell companies were not indebted to Ecobank, his decision was later overturned, with the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court affirming Honeywell’s indebtedness to Ecobank.
When the matter came up on Monday for hearing, counsel for Barbican Capital, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), informed the court that the plaintiff had filed a notice of discontinuance, stating that they intended to explore an amicable settlement.
“In view of this, we urge the court to act on the notice of discontinuance,” Olanipekun said.
In response, Babajide Koku (SAN), representing FBN Holdings, acknowledged the notice, which he had only just received in court, and noted it was intended to allow parties to consider settlement.
Koku asked for a short adjournment to consult with his client.
“We seek a brief adjournment to enable discussions with our client before any order is made,” he said.
Also, Hakeem O. Afolabi (SAN), representing the Central Bank of Nigeria as a third party in the case, did not oppose the notice.
However, Ecobank’s lawyer, Ogunba, expressed surprise, noting that he was not served with the notice of discontinuance.
“We were not carried along in this notice; my client’s pending applications must also be considered,” he said, referring to Ecobank’s unresolved motions.
