Govt secures order against Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts, others over $1. 7b debt claims

The Federal Government, Nigeria Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) Limited and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had secured a Mareva Injunction against Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Limited (AEDC), Atlantic Energy Brass Development Limited ((AEBD), Mr Olajide Omokore and Mr Kolawole Aluko over $1.762,338.184.40 debt claims.

Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo of a Federal High Court, Lagos gave the order following an Exparte application filed by Oladipo Okpeseyi (SAN) on behalf of the Federal Government, NPDC and NNPC against the defendants.

A Mareva order is a preservatory specie of an injunctive order that prevents the dissipating or dealing with the properties (pending the determination of a dispute) that could render the judgment of a court or the resolution of that dispute nugatory.

The Court in the order also restrained the defendants from giving any instruction demanding , accepting or receiving payment from 27 banks both in domestic and offshore accounts and four companies listed on the face of the motion paper and/ or giving any sale or transfer instruction , demanding , accepting or receiving any payment or sale of land in Abuja, Lagos and others located outside Nigeria.

The listed banks are Access Bank Plc, Citi Bank, Diamond Bank Plc, EcoBank Nigeria Plc, First Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank Plc. Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Heritage Bank Plc. Keystone Bank, Skye Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC bank Nigeria Limited, Standard Chartered Bank, Sterling Bank Plc, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, United Bank For Africa, Unity Bank Plc, WEMA Unity, Zenith Bank Plc. BNP Paribas Switzerland, LGT Bank ( Switzerland), Standard Chartered Bank ( London), Barclays Bank ( London), Corner Bank, Lugano (Switzerland), Deutsche Bank ( Geneva), while the companies are Mia Hotels Ltd, First Motors Ltd, V. I. Petrochemical and Evergreen Realty & Management.

The order also covered houses, lands and other holdings in Lagos, Los Angeles, Switzerland, London and Canada, including Galactica Star and Aeroplane Bommbardier.

The Court further ordered a substituted service of the order to affected persons on a newspaper advertisement circulating within the outside the Federal Republic of Nigeria and adjourned to June 13, 2016 for hearing of the motion.