Court orders AMCON to pay Capital Oil N26b

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja yesterday ordered the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to pay Capital Oil and Gas Limited N26 billion as contained in the consent judgment delivered in 2013.

In a judgment delivered by Justice Abdul Kafarati, the court held that it has powers to enforce its judgment or the verdict of any lower court in the country.

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.

The court, while granting all the reliefs of the plaintiff also gave 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 the revamping of the plaintiff’s business and to pay the plaintiff’s trade creditors.

In his reaction shortly after the judgment, counsel to the plaintiff, Ajibola Oluyede, described the verdict as a landmark decision that was rooted in the vision of the founding fathers of AMCON.