Nigeria: Court Orders Immediate Freezing of Bastanchury Power Solutions' Accounts

6 August 2024
This Day (Lagos)

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the immediate freezing of all Bastanchury Power Solutions Accounts, in all commercial Banks in Nigeria. The court also ordered the compulsory scheduling of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Bastanchury Power Solutions Nigeria Limited, in compliance with the provisions of the Company and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (as amended) within days of the order.

The court presided over by Hon. Justice Kehinde Ogundare, ordered that the AGM must be held within 14 days, from the date the Order of Court is made. Apart from compelling the company to hold the compulsory AGM and audit the first and second Defendant's accounts, Justice Ogundare also made an order compelling the Deputy Chief Registrar (DCR) of the Court, to appoint an external and independent auditor to audit the company's accounting books and the operations of its Funds Manager, African Plus Partners Nigeria Limited.

The Judge further made an order of injunction restraining the Defendants, their agents, privies, representatives or the like from unilaterally dealing with the assets, shares, funds or any of the first Defendant's assets, shares, funds or chose in action; in any manner whatsoever with all commercial Banks including the following to wit: Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, Citibank Nigeria Limited, Ecobank Nigeria Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, First City Monument Bank Plc, Globus Bank, Heritage Bank Limited, Jaiz Bank, Keystone Bank Limited, Polaris Bank Limited, Providus Bank, Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria Limited, Standard Chartered Bank, Sterling Bank Plc, Suntrust Bank Limited, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc, Unity Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc, on any accounts whatsoever maintained by the Bastanchury Power Solutions Nigeria Limited, with the said commercial banks until the final audit report on the accounting books and operations of the company is presented to the Deputy Chief Registrar of this Honourable Court.

"An order of Injunction restraining the defendants from selling, charging, mortgaging or otherwise encumbering in any way any of the assets, shares, funds or any of the Bastanchury Power Solutions Nigeria Limited's assets, on behalf of the Bastanchury Power Solutions Nigeria Limited Company, all the assets which include landed properties belonging to the Company, until the final audit report of the accounting books and operations of the Bastanchury Power Solutions Nigeria Limited is submitted to the Deputy Chief Registrar of this Honourable Court.

The court also ruled thus: "An order of this Honourable Court compelling the third and fourth Defendant to disclose before this Honourable Court all the funds belonging to the first and second Defendant in their custody and/or funds pertaining to the first and second Defendant, for the purpose of determining the funds due to the Plaintiffs in this suit".

The above orders were made by Hon. Justice Ogundare on July 22, 2024, while delivering judgement in a suit marked FHC/L/CS/319/2023, filed by the Plaintiffs; Fenchurch Energy Nigeria Limited, Mr Funsho Adeyemi and Mr Femi Bakare through their Lawyer, Adedoyin Adetunji-Adeniyi of AAA Chambers, against the power solution firm, Bastanchury Power Solutions Nigeria Limited, FBNQUEST Trustees Limited and Stanbic IBTC Trustees Limited, Trustees of Africa Infra Plus Funds, listed as first to third Defendant.

The Plaintiffs had approached the court by way of an Originating Summons pursuant to Rule 2(1) of the Companies Proceedings Rules and Sections 344 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (as amended), and asked the court for the determination of the following questions: "whether the second Defendant, who did not register its shareholdings with the Corporate Affairs Commission but hijacked the Board of the first Defendant, can unilaterally manage the affairs of the first Defendant's Company and make incidental and crucial decisions, without due regard to provisions of the Company and Allied Matters Act, 2020, amongst other demands.

SAYNOTOETHNICBIGOTRY

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