in Abuja amid protests against Xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in
South Africa on September 4, 2019. Photo: Sodiq Adelakun/Channels
TV
The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Tuesday asked
South African retail company, Shoprite Checkers (PTY) Limited, to
show proof that its case seeking to vacate the injunction stopping
the transfer of its assets abroad is urgent.
The vacation judge, Justice Nicholas Oweibo, also adjourned
until September 7 for hearing after directing Shoprite’s counsel,
Funke Adekoya, to file an application to that effect.
Shoprite had filed an application seeking the discharge of a
Mareva injunction granted by the court on July 14, 2020, and
stopping it from transferring its assets.
A Mareva injunction is a court order freezing a debtor’s assets
to prevent them from being taken abroad.
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The injunction was granted by Justice Mohammed Liman of the
Federal High Court, Lagos in favour of a Nigerian firm, AIC
Limited.
gavel.
In 2018, the company secured a $10 million judgment against
Shoprite in a breach of contract lawsuit and obtained the Mareva
injunction against the backdrop of Shoprite’s announcement to pull
out of Nigeria.
Shoprite has filed an appeal at the Supreme Court to challenge
the $10 million judgment.
In the Mareva injunction, Justice Liman, however, restrained
Shoprite “from transferring, assigning, charging, or disposing of
its trademark, franchise and intellectual property in a manner that
will alter, dissipate or remove these non-cash assets and other
assets, including but not limited to trade receivables, trade
payables, payment for purchase of merchandise, from within the
jurisdiction of the court.”
The judge also mandated the second respondent, Retail
Supermarket Nigeria Limited, “to disclose its audited financial
statements for the years ending 2018 and 2019, to enable the
judgment creditor AIC Ltd determine the judgment debtor’s funds in
its custody in order to preserve same in satisfaction of the
judgment of the Court of Appeal.”
At the proceedings on Tuesday, Adekoya who is a Senior Advocate
of Nigeria (SAN) approached the vacation judge with an application
seeking to set aside the Mareva injunction.
However, the judge said he needed to be convinced that the
matter was urgent enough to warrant being heard during the court
vacation.