Honeywell Flour Mills (HFMP) has emerged victorious in its eight-year legal battle against Ecobank Nigeria. Justice Mohammed Liman of the Federal High Court, Lagos, awarded Honeywell Flour Mills N72.2 billion in damages in the case that began in 2015 when the bank denied the manufacturer access to its accounts.
Controversy as Ecobank calls on First Bank to reject Otudeko’s N106.37bn investment
The dispute arose when Ecobank froze Honeywell Flour‘s accounts in November 2015, obtaining an ex parte order that was granted on the condition that the bank would compensate the company for any harm or loss caused by the action.
Read Also Official Naira to Dollar exchange rate today July 19 2023
Ecobank took this step as part of its attempt to wind up Honeywell Flour Mills over an alleged outstanding debt.
It was reported previously that Ecobank claimed Honeywell Group, the former owner of Honeywell Flour Mills, owed the bank N13.5 billion in outstanding debt. The bank also sought to prevent Oba Otudeko, the founder of Honeywell Group, from becoming the largest shareholder of FBN Holdings as a means to recover the alleged debt.
Read Also Black market Naira to dollar, Pound and Euro exchange rate today, July 19, 2023
In response to the losses suffered by Honeywell Flour Mills due to the freezing of its accounts, Justice Liman ordered Ecobank to pay N72.2 billion in damages to the company.
The awarded amount represents 23% of Ecobank’s first-quarter turnover in 2023, during which the bank generated N313.17 billion. The damages account for factors such as loss of revenue, interest on unutilized cash balances, foreign exchange devaluation, aggravated damages, and exemplary damages.
Justice Liman stated that the plaintiff (Honeywell) was unjustly denied access to its funds based on the ex parte order obtained by Ecobank. The judge emphasized that the contents of the document speak for themselves, dismissing the arguments put forth by Ecobank’s lawyer.
Furthermore, the judge criticized Ecobank’s lawyer for lacking knowledge of the law pertaining to the ex parte order. He noted that the purpose of an undertaking to pay damages is to indemnify the affected party for any losses suffered due to the ex parte order.
Oba Otudeko becomes First Bank Largest Shareholder
Justice Liman stressed that the provisions of the winding-up rules clearly state that applications affecting the rights of parties in winding-up proceedings must be made on notice, and he deemed Ecobank’s ex parte application as ultra vires, or beyond its legal authority.
Thanks for reading, that is all for now on the latest Naija news today on ” Court orders Ecobank to pay Honeywell N72.2bn” for more Latest news in Nigeria always visit Ejesgist.ng
