Alleged Shell $2.7bn ‘Oil Theft’ Case: AITEO Asked Court To Commit Two Banks Officials To Prison

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A Federal High Court in Lagos Wednesday fixed March 2 for ruling
whether to hea contempt application filed against two banks and
their officials for disobeying a court order to block Shell
Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd bank accounts.

Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo fixed the date after hearing
agreement of counsels on which application should be heard
first.

AITEO Eastern E & P Company Ltd through its counsel Kemi
Pinheiro SAN who led Dapo olanipekun and Emeka Ezoani both SAN had
filed form 48 against officials of the two banks.

Pinheiro told the judge that the alleged contemnors wilfully
disobeyed the court’s interim orders of January 25, 2021 directing
them to block SPDC accounts, for allegedly “interfering,
obstructing and/or frustrating compliance with the interim
orders.”

The banks and their officials are: Citi Bank Ltd, its Company
Secretary Sola Fagbure and Chief Financial Officer, Sharaf
Mohammed; United Bank For Africa (UBA) Plc, its Company Secretary
Bill Andrew Odum and Chief Financial Officer, Ebenezer
Kolawole.

AITEO further prayed for an order “directing the Inspector
General of Police through his officers to “immediately arrest,
detain, investigate and prosecute the respondents for interfering
with the course of administration of justice…”

Justice Oguntoyinbo made the said interim January 25 order
following AITEO’s ex parte application in suit no FHC/L/CS/52/202,
seeking to recover the cash value of more than 16 million barrels
of crude oil allegedly diverted by the oil giant from AITEO.

She directed 20 banks to “ring-fence any cash, bonds, deposits,
all forms of negotiable instruments to the value of $2.7 billion
and pay all standing credits to the Shell companies up to the value
into an interest yielding account in the name of the Chief
Registrar of the court.”

The Chief Registrar is to “hold the funds in trust” pending the
hearing of the motion and determination of the motion on notice for
interlocutory injunction filed before it by AITEO.

Pinheiro told the judge on Wednesday that out of 20 nominal
respondent banks in the case, only the trio had failed to comply
with the order.

The bank’s and Shell’s counsel, opposed the application to hear
the committer proceedings first.

SPDC counsel Adewale Atake SAN informed the court of his pending
motion praying that the court to stay proceedings and refer the
case to Arbitration.

He also informed judge that he had filed another motion that the
order be discharged and he urged the court to hear his application
first.

Atake made an oral application that the mareva order be varied,
on the ground that it had imposed “hardship” on Shell and even the
Federal Government. He said there was a danger that the oil
giant could not pay workers’ salaries, and contractors would not be
able to execute contracts and that

But the judge declined his oral application, noting that the
Federal Government was not a party to the suit.

Counsel for the banks, Mr Olawale Akoni SAN, also prayed the
court to hear his motion to discharge the Mareva order first.

But their applications were opposed by Pinheiro.

“My lord, a party who is in disobedience of court order cannot
be seeking relief from the same court and a party who has filed a
motion challenging the jurisdiction of court cannot to equally be
seeking for favour from the same court,” he said.

Justice Oguntoyinbo said the Mareva order subsists and differed
ruling on which application to be heard first till next
Tuesday.