The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos and presided over by
Justice Jude K.
Dagat, on Monday, struck out the application by Ecobank Nigeria
Plc. seeking
to wind-up Honeywell and its sister company, Anchorage Leisures
Limited, for abuse of court process.
The court today, today, heard the pending
applications in suits: FHC/L/CS/1571/15 Ecobank v.
Honeywell Group Limited and
FHC/L/CS/1570/15 Ecobank v Anchorage Leisures Limited which were the petitions
for winding–up filed by Ecobank against Honeywell and Anchorage Leisures on
October 16, 2015.
Addressing the court, Justice Dagat noted that a court faced with
winding up application, must first determine if the petition was brought in
good faith.
According to him, Ecobank knew that Honeywell was challenging the
alleged debt and had instituted a matter before Justice Idris, who had ruled
that parties maintain status quo ante bellum.
Despite the orders, Ecobank
started its forum shopping by filing winding up petitions instead of recovery
of the alleged debt.
The fact of the case is that Honeywell had made payments
to the tune of N3.5 billion as full and final payment pursuant to the agreement
of July 22, 2014 by the parties.
Justice Dagat stated that since the matter
pending before Justice Idris is premised on the same facts as this petition,
there is an established abuse of the orders of Justice Idris regarding
maintenance of status quo ante bellum.
Justice Dagat further held that the
matter before Justice Idris is first in time, therefore the subsequent petition
by Ecobank constitutes an abuse of court process.
The court held that Ecobank’s
petition is aimed at overreaching the powers of the Federal High court in the
suit before Justice Idris. According to Justice Dagat, “the Supreme Court has
made it clear that it would amount to a travesty of justice for any court to
hear a matter that is already before another court of coordinate jurisdiction.”
Justice Dagat further ruled that if the court should proceed with Ecobank’s
petition, it would create a conflict of decisions by different courts, which
will not augur well within the Judiciary.
“It is not in the interest of justice
to allow this petition to stand even as the jurisdiction of the court has not
been invoked on the matter.”
Ecobank’s petition was therefore struck out and
Honeywell’s challenge was upheld.
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