Lagos Court Adjourns Hearing in N5.4bn Share Dispute Suit
A Federal High Court in Lagos has fixed October 21, 2024, for the hearing of pending applications in a suit filed by Barbican Capital Limited against First Bank of Nigeria Holdings Plc over the alleged disputes of its N5.4bn shares. The court, presided over by Justice Ayokunle Faji, adjourned the case following an application from Ecobank Plc’s counsel, Kunle Ogunba (SAN), seeking to join the case.
The suit, which was filed by Barbican Capital Limited, an affiliate of Honeywell Group Limited, claims that over the years, it had cumulatively acquired about 5,386,397,202 shares, representing 15.1 per cent of FBN Holdings’ overall shares listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Ecobank has opposed this action, arguing that the funds used by Barbican Capital to purchase the shares were allegedly diverted from the sale of Honeywell Flour Mills shares to Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc.
During the hearing, Ecobank’s counsel, Ogunba (SAN), notified the court of his client’s application to join the case. However, the judge indicated that the court wanted the existing parties to regularise their processes before hearing the joinder application. After the 2nd defendant’s counsel moved to regularise his process, which the court approved, Ogunba introduced his application for joinder and confirmed that the process had been served on the plaintiff.
The court granted Ogunba’s application, and he also sought leave to file a further affidavit in strict rebuttal to the plaintiff’s counter-affidavit. The plaintiff’s counsel, Bode Olanipekun (SAN), argued that the recusal issue had not been raised in the joinder application, which was served on the plaintiff on September 30, 2024. Justice Faji hinted that the plaintiff’s counsel would need to address the court on the recusal issue before the case could proceed.
The court granted Ogunba time to file his application for the judge’s recusal and adjourned the case until October 21, 2024, for the hearing of the pending applications.
