The Federal Excessive Courtroom in Lagos has fastened April 29, 2026, to listen to all processes linked to a winding-up case filed by Shell East Workers Funding Cooperative Society Restricted towards an actual property agency, Femab Properties Restricted, over an alleged excellent N96 million debt.
BusinessTimes gathered that Justice Deinde Isaac Dipeolu rescheduled the listening to on pending purposes to April 29 on Wednesday.
Femab Properties Restricted is a Nigerian-based actual property growth and funding firm, whereas Shell East Workers Funding Cooperative Society Ltd (CoopEast) is a registered cooperative society that serves its members who’re staff and retirees of Shell Firms in Nigeria by commodity gross sales, housing schemes, amongst others.
Each events are embroiled in a contractual dispute tied to a earlier N850 million obligation linked to a land buy for the proposed Shell Property Improvement at Oniru, Lagos State, Nigeria.
What They Are Saying
On the resumed proceedings on Wednesday, the authorized groups for each events have been current.
Justice Deinde Isaac Dipeolu held that, in view of the court docket’s docket being full of pending judgments and rulings, different contentious issues, together with the moment winding-up case and related processes, stand adjourned for listening to till April 29.
- In response to Shell East Workers Funding Cooperative Society Restricted’s processes seen by BusinessTimes and filed by its lawyer, Chris Ekemezie, he sought “an order granting depart to the applicant to promote the winding-up petition by one insertion in two nationwide each day newspapers circulating in Nigeria and in Lagos State, the place the respondent (Femab) has its head workplace, in compliance with the Firms Winding-Up Guidelines 2001.”
He argued that, by advantage of Order 19 of the Firms Winding-Up Guidelines 2001, the court docket has the facility to make an order for commercial to wind up the respondent.
- The lawyer connected enrolled orders of the Courts in Rivers and Lagos, which awarded the claimant (Shell East) the sum of N96,000,000.00, being the stability of the whole sum of N850,000,000.00 due and payable by the defendant (Femab) to the claimant for the acquisition of land for the proposed Shell Property Improvement at Oniru, Lagos State, Nigeria.
- Submit-judgment curiosity was additionally awarded on the fee of 20% each year till full liquidation on the time (2019 and 2025).
- The lawyer argued that the applicant made a number of calls for to the respondent to pay its debt.
He added, nevertheless, however that the 21 days allowed by the Firms and Allied Issues Act had lengthy elapsed, the respondent was unable to pay its debt, thus necessitating this winding-up petition.
- He urged the court docket to wind up the respondent, which, in response to him, is allegedly “bancrupt and unable to pay its money owed.”
Nonetheless, of their counter-affidavit seen by BusinessTimes, Ajibade Alimat, a litigation officer for Femab, confirmed that on October 28, 2015, the petitioner/respondent executed a Property Improvement Settlement for the development of a set growth of a residential housing property and supporting infrastructure in Lagos.
The official maintained that the respondent will not be indebted and can’t be mentioned to be indebted to the petitioner.
- She added that there isn’t any proof that the respondent is bancrupt, stating that “the difficulty between the petitioner and the respondent facilities on breach of settlement by the petitioner, which culminated in a scenario the place curiosity on an unutilized bank mortgage of N96,000,000.00 was deducted from the preliminary deposit.”
- She additional acknowledged that on March 19, 2021, the respondent raised a bank draft of N10 million in favour of the petitioner, “whereas additional funds to the petitioner are nonetheless being negotiated to share the rate of interest quantity of N96,000,000.00 equally with the respondent, because the cost was led to by the non-utilization of the mortgage facility granted by a industrial bank.”
She urged the court docket to say no approving the winding-up of the respondent, as her shopper can be significantly prejudiced by the grant of the appliance.
All different pending purposes by the events might be heard on the following adjourned date.
What You Ought to Know
Recall that the Federal Excessive Courtroom headquarters in 2015 introduced the creation of an “Insolvency Unit” for the court docket, geared toward addressing the implementation of legal guidelines referring to firm restructuring and dissolution in Nigeria.
In response to the court docket, the legal guidelines relate to “Firm Voluntary Preparations (CVA), Administration, Receivership, Winding Up (Dissolution), and varied types of restructuring of corporations” in Nigeria.
- The unit was created following approval by the Chief Choose of the Federal Excessive Courtroom, Justice John Terhemba Tsoho.
- The creation of this unit was mentioned to be pursuant to the provisions of the Firms and Allied Issues Act, 2020; the Asset Administration Company of Nigeria (AMCON) Act, 2019 (as amended); the Nigeria Deposit Insurance coverage Company (NDIC) Act, 2024; and the Chapter Act, Legal guidelines of the Federation of Nigeria, 2010.
- The court docket’s registry pressured that the capabilities of the Insolvency Unit are to supervise the efficient implementation of the provisions of the above enactments as they relate to Firm Voluntary Preparations (CVA), Administration, Receivership, Winding Up, and varied types of restructuring of corporations.
The Federal Excessive Courtroom has jurisdiction to decide whether or not an organization is bancrupt or not.
Recall that in December 2025, in a bid to flee liquidation following a latest order of the Federal Excessive Courtroom, Abuja, Dantata & Sawoe Building Firm Restricted hurriedly paid in full the $1.4 million settlement settlement overlaying a $1,257,592.83 debt owed to Zutari Consulting Nigeria Ltd for subcontract work on the Dangote Fertilizer Plant venture in Lekki, Lagos.
