Court gavel
A Federal High Court in Lagos has adjourned a suit filed by Ecobank challenging the alleged sale of 6.3 billion shares in Barbican Capital Ltd. until December 1.
The court will await the decision of the Court of Appeal before proceeding with the case.
Justice Depeolu held that “it will amount to judicial recklessness for the court to proceed” with the suit while an appeal is pending.
He cited the case of Okafor vs Attorney-General of Anambra State, saying that once an appeal is entered, the lower court is stripped of its jurisdiction.
Ecobank is seeking an interlocutory order restraining the defendants from selling, transferring, or dealing with the shares pending the determination of the suit.
The defendants, including Obafemi Otudeko, Barbican Capital Ltd., and Honeywell Flour Mills Plc., have filed preliminary objections challenging the court’s jurisdiction.
The court’s decision to adjourn the case until December 1 will determine the fate of the N6.3 billion shares and the pending appeal.
As Justice Depeolu noted, “the court would not act on any application before it pending the Court of Appeal’s decision”.
