Court to Rule Feb 9 on Aiteo’s Application Seeking to Stop Forfeiture Order

Alex Enumah

The Abuja division of the Federal High Court yesterday said it would deliver ruling on February 9, 2018, on an application seeking to stop the federal government from enforcing a ruling of a United Kingdom’s court which ordered the forfeiture of AITEO properties in the UK.

Justice Gabriel Kolawole announced ruling on the said date after taken submissions from counsel who had argued for and against the motion.

Chief Wole Olanipeku (SAN) in moving the applicant’s motion, urged the court to restrain the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and EFCC from enforcing the Crown Court order, arguing that if enforced, it would breach the fundamental human rights of their clients.

He held that the counter affidavit by the second defendant deviated from the issues been contested, thereby amounting to an abuse of court process and as such be discountenanced by the court.

“What he did was to set out different cases and decided to address your Lordship on it”, Olanipekun told the court.

He further argued that since the first defendant did not file any counter affidavit, “It could be said that the second defendant cannot cry more than the bereaved. We pray the court to discountenance second defendant’s counter affidavit.

“We ask the court to grant our application,” he submitted.”

Responding, counsel to the first defendant, Oyin Koleesho, told the court that although the AGF did not file counter affidavit, they will however be aligning with the submissions of the second defendant.

In adopting his brief, counsel to the EFCC, G. K . Latona, urged the court to dismiss the applicant’s application for been irrelevant and preposterous.

“We are saying that the entire plaintiff application is grounded in speculation. The reliefs the plaintiffs are seeking are speculative,” he said.

Latona arguing further said the second defendant in his further affidavit failed to make out a case warranting an injunction.

He stated that the application was an abuse of court process as the reliefs been sought by the applicant is already before the court in another suit.

“It is on record that the same plaintiff (Benedict Peters) is the alter ego of AITEO, in other company before your Lordship, the reliefs of that motion are the same,” he submitted.

After listening to their submissions, Justice Gabriel Kolawole adjourned ruling to February 9.

Benedict Peters and AITEO Eastern E&P, an oil and gas liability company, Wednesday, approached a Federal High, Abuja, to seek an interlocutory injunction to stop the AGF and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from enforcing Crown London ex parte order, which made an interim forfeiture order of their properties in the United Kingdom.

AITEO is a Limited Liability Company, a major player in the upstream sector of the Nigerian oil industry, as well as the joint/ operator of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29, an asset which is jointly owned by it and the federal government, through the NNPC, which subscribes to 55 per cent of the said asset.

It is also a joint operator of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29, an asset which is jointly owned by the firm and the federal government through the NNPC, which subscribes 55 per cent of the said asset.

The Crown Court, sitting at Southwark, United Kingdom, Coram, His Honour Judge Beddoe, had on October 19, 2017, ordered an interim forfeiture of properties belonging to the plaintiffs.

The ex-parte application made by Peters, who is the alter ego of AITEO, is seeking an interlocutory injunction restraining the defendants from effecting that interim forfeiture order.