Court freezes Bastanchury Power Solutions’ accounts in all commercial banks

Justice Kehinde Ogundare of a Federal High Court, Lagos has ordered the immediate freezing of all Bastanchury Power Solutions accounts in all commercial banks in Nigeria.

The court also ordered a compulsory Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Bastanchury Power Solutions Nigeria Limited, in compliance with the provisions of the Company and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (As Amended) within days of the judgement. The AGM must be held within 14 days from the date the court order is made.

The court made the order while delivering judgement in a suit marked FHC/L/CS/319/2023, filed by the plaintiffs: Fenchurch Energy Nigeria Limited, Mr. Funsho Adeyemi, and Mr. Femi Bakare through their counsel, Adedoyin Adetunji-Adeniyi, against the power solution firm, Bastanchury Power Solutions Nigeria Limited, FBNQUEST Trustees Limited, and Stanbic-Ibtc Trustees Limited, as Trustees of Africa Infra Plus Funds, listed as first to third respondents, respectively.

The plaintiffs, in their originating summons brought pursuant to Rule 2 (1) of the Companies Proceedings Rules and Sections 344 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (as amended), asked the court for a determination on “whether the second defendant, who did not register its shareholdings with the Corporate Affairs Commission but hijacked the Board of the first defendant, can unilaterally manage the affairs of the first defendant’s company and make incidental and crucial decisions without due regard to the provisions of the Company and Allied Matters Act, 2020?

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“Whether the Honourable Court is imbued with jurisdictional powers to intervene and oversee the management of the 1st defendant company where the second (2nd) defendant has excluded the plaintiffs, who are shareholders and directors in the management of the 1st defendant?”

However, aside from the court compelling the company to hold the compulsory AGM and audit the first and second defendants’ accounts, Justice Ogundare also made an order compelling the Deputy Chief Registrar (DCR) of the court to appoint an external and independent auditor to audit the company’s accounting books and the operations of its funds manager, African Plus Partners Nigeria Limited. The defendant has unilaterally misappropriated and utilised the funds of the 1st defendant towards its funds to wit: Africa Infra Plus Fund (AIPF) to the exclusion of the first plaintiff who is a substantial shareholder in the first defendant and the 2nd & 3rd plaintiffs who remain directors of the 1st defendant as at the time of filing this suit.

Justice Ogundare therefore ordered, restraining the defendants, their agents, privies, representatives or the like from unilaterally dealing with the assets, shares, funds or any of the first defendant’s assets, shares, funds, or chose in action; in any manner whatsoever with all commercial banks including: Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, CitiBank Nigeria Limited, Ecobank Nigeria Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, First City Monument Bank Plc, Globus Bank, Heritage Bank Limited, Jaiz Bank, Keystone Bank Limited, Polaris Bank Limited, Providus Bank, Stanbic Ibtc Bank Nigeria Limited, Standard Chartered Bank, Sterling Bank Plc, Suntrust Bank Limited, Union Bank Of Nigeria Plc, United Bank For Africa Plc, Unity Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc, and Zenith Bank Plc, on any accounts whatsoever maintained by the Bastanchury Power Solutions Nigeria Limited, with the said commercial banks until the final audit report on the accounting books and operations of the company is presented to the Deputy Chief Registrar of this Honourable Court.

“An order of injunction restraining the defendants from selling, charging, mortgaging, or otherwise encumbering in any way any of the assets, shares, funds or any of the Bastanchury Power Solutions Nigeria Limited’s assets, on behalf of the Bastanchury Power Solutions Nigeria Limited company, all the assets which include landed properties belonging to the company, until the final audit report of the accounting books and operations of the Bastanchury Power Solutions Nigeria Limited is submitted to the Deputy Chief Registrar of this Honourable Court.”