Court orders AMCON to pay Capital Oil and Gas N26bn

A Federal High court sitting in Abuja has ordered the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to pay Capital Oil and Gas Limited the sum of  N26 billion  as contained in the consent judgment delivered in 2013 conveying and giving force of judicial authority to an agreement between the parties for the restructuring of debts owed by the capital oil to various creditors.
The consent judgment prescribed that AMCON would provide a total sum of N55.89 billion to the plaintiff, Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited for the payment of debts owed to various creditors including banks, trade creditors and staff of the plaintiff and an additional N16 billion as trading capital to the plaintiff for the purpose of its petroleum products trading business.
The terms of the consent judgment, which were a replication of the terms of a settlement agreement entered into by the parties, reflected the reality that the plaintiff was not insolvent but merely illiquidity in that it had more assets even at forced sale value than the debts it owed.
In his judgment yesterday, Justice Abdul Kafarati  held that the court has powers to enforce its judgment or the verdict of any lower court in the country.
Besides, Justice Kafarati also restrained AMCON from exercising any powers over Capital Oil and Gas Limited and its assets and from processing any assignment and transfer among others. He further advised the defendant to live up to its statutory responsibility of reviving the nation’s economy through positive supports for businesses to thrive.
The court went further to grant all the reliefs of the plaintiff and made the following orders:
“An order compelling the defendant (AMCON) to comply with obligations to restructure the plaintiff’s debt and to provide Trade Finance Facility in the sum of N16 billion for revamping of the plaintiff’s business and to pay the plaintiff’s trade creditors.
“An order compelling the defendant to comply with the consent judgment and to make the additional sum of N10,590, 000,000 available to the plaintiff for the payment of sundry creditors who continue to threaten the plaintiff’s business. “An order of injunction restraining the defendant from exercising any powers over the plaintiff and its assets and from processing any assignment, transfer or other demise whatsoever or requesting for statutory consent or other approvals for the transfer or other demise of any rights in the assets of the plaintiff,” Justice Kafarati said.




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