General Hydrocarbons Limited (GHL), along with its Directors and Shareholders, has initiated contempt proceedings against senior officials of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) for allegedly violating a subsisting order of the Federal High Court, Lagos, which restrained the corporation from appointing a Receiver over the company.
Justice A. Lewis-Allagoa had on September 23 issued an order barring AMCON from taking any steps toward appointing a Receiver over GHL. The order was reaffirmed on October 22.
Despite this, Justice Akintayo Aluko of the same Federal High Court, Lagos, on October 24 granted an ex parte order sought by AMCON for the appointment of a Receiver—an action that has now triggered contempt charges against AMCON officials and their legal representatives who were aware of Justice Lewis-Allagoa’s earlier directive.
In court filings, GHL accused AMCON of misleading Justice Aluko by failing to disclose the existence of the earlier injunction which expressly prohibited the corporation from “appointing or continuing with” any receivership process involving the company.
GHL further alleged that AMCON misrepresented facts by claiming the existence of an Eligible Bank Asset (EBA) issued to GHL. According to the company, AMCON only made a deposit toward a First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) EBA but failed to complete the second and final payment required to perfect the transaction.
The applicants noted that FBN had since offered to refund the EBA deposit in communications submitted to AMCON and in court filings. They added that instead of pursuing FBN, AMCON opted to target GHL, contrary to the content of their own correspondence before the court.
Following these allegations, Form 48—Notice of Consequence of Disobedience of Court Orders—has been issued against several senior AMCON officials, including Chairman Dr. Bala Bello; Managing Director Gbenga Alade; Executive Directors Adeshola Lamidi, Lucky Adaghe, and Dr. Aminu Mukhtar Dan’amu.
Others named include the purported Receiver, Oluseyi Akinwunmi; AMCON’s counsel, Bidemi Ademola-Bello SAN, who was present when Justice Lewis-Allagoa issued the restraining order; and Ade Adedeji SAN, whose firm represents AMCON.
Justice Lewis-Allagoa has ordered that the contempt proceedings be served on the listed individuals through substituted means, including their official email addresses, WhatsApp numbers, physical office addresses, and publication in at least two national newspapers and other nationwide media platforms.
