Business
Honeywell Awarded N72.2bn Damages Against Ecobank
Honeywell Flour Mills Plc has won N72.2 billion in damages against Ecobank Nigeria.
A Federal High Court (FHC), Lagos, presided over by Justice Mohammed Liman, entered the ruling on Tuesday.
The judgment came as part of efforts to resolve a longstanding legal tussle between the flour millers and the lender.
Both parties have been embroiled in protracted legal battles founded on several allegations and counterclaims.
The protracted legal battle kicked off in November 2015 when Ecobank obtained ex-parte order from the FHC to freeze Honeywell Flour Mills’ assets, including all its bank accounts.
The company claimed that the order almost crippled their businesses, as they were financially incapacitated from fulfilling their obligations to stakeholders.
They were unable to pay suppliers, process Letters of Credit, and collect payment from distributors, thus endangering the livelihood of over 2,000 employees and causing significant reputational and operational damage.
After weeks of struggling to run a business without access to their bank accounts, Honeywell Flour Mills applied for discharge of the orders, with the court varying the asset freezing ex-parte orders and allowing the company limited access to its accounts.
In March 2016, a Court of Appeal (CA) overruled the ex-parte order to restore Honeywell Flour Mills’ right to operate its accounts without any restrictions, stating that Ecobank’s application to freeze the assets should not have been allowed to stand.
Consequently, in an appeal against the judgment, Ecobank asked the Supreme Court (SC) to overturn the Court of Appeal’s (CA) ruling.
However, the SC upheld the appellate court’s decision that an ex-parte injunction was not permitted to be filed in a winding-up petition.
Following the SC’s upholding of the CA’s judgment, Honeywell Flour Mills demanded that Ecobank fulfill its undertaking to compensate the company for the loss suffered due to the ex-parte order, which has turned baseless.
The company sought damages in excess of N72bn against Ecobank.
In his arguments, Honeywell Flour Mills’ lead counsel, Bode Olanipekun, argued that the SC determined that the ex parte orders obtained by the bank against the plaintiff were improper, and once a court makes a finding is made that an application is improper then that application is frivolous.
On his part, Ecobank’s legal counsel, Kunle Ogunba, argued that in its undertaking, it gave a condition that “if HFMP suffers any damage, it should send a notification to the registrar of the court, who will then inform the bank”.
The bank is insisting that the above condition was not carried out, which meant that HFMP would not entitled to damages.
The FHC, however, having carefully the evidence adduced before it and listening to the deliberations, reached a decision in favour of Honeywell Flour Mills.
Consequently, the court granted the four reliefs sought by the flour miller, which amounted to N72.2bn.
In a sharp turn of events, the Nigerian Naira took a significant tumble on Tuesday, plunging to N1,416.57 against the US dollar at the official market.
This staggering drop of N62.36 from the previous trading day represents a 4.60 percent loss, sparking concerns among investors and analysts alike.
Data from the FMDQ Exchange, overseeing the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), revealed this unsettling trend.
Despite the currency’s downward spiral, trading activity surged, with the daily turnover soaring to $160.77 million, compared to Monday’s $84.83 million.
Meanwhile, at the Investor’s and Exporter’s (I&E) window, the Naira’s performance remained volatile, trading between N1,445 and N1,301 against the dollar, underscoring the currency’s precarious position in the market.
The management of Dangote Cement Plc., Ibese Plant has assured that it would continue to complement the efforts of the Ogun State Government in the development of its host communities through capacity building for the people, especially the youths.
In a statement, the company declared its commitment to development for the prosperity of the people and host communities for which it is placing a premium on the developmental needs of the communities and empowerment of their indigenes.
During a capacity development workshop for Host Community Representatives, General Manager, Human Asset Management/Admin, Aina Olugbenga, said, Dangote Cement remained committed to implementing value-adding empowerment programs to uplift the people and develop the host communities.
The workshop themed: “Team Building, Inclusivity and Stewardship, a panacea to effective Community Representatives” according to him, was to equip the Community reps with the right skills to offer quality representation for their people. He stated: this capacity building workshop is aimed at developing and strengthening the skills, instincts, and abilities of the communities through their representatives adapt and thrive in a fast-changing world.
Olugbenga noted that the workshop is part of the management’s strategy to improve relationships with the host communities and urged the participants to leverage the knowledge acquired from the workshop to improve service delivery to their people and the Cement plant.
According to him, Dangote Cement, Ibese Plant is committed to building the capacity of the people and institutions in the communities by identifying skill gaps and partnering to up their skills for economic prosperity. This, he stated, was in anticipation that other stakeholders will continue to play their part by partnering and supporting the Company to ensure peaceful co-existence and shared prosperity for all.
Said he, “Apart from reciprocating the good gesture of Dangote Cement by ensuring peace at all times and keeping an open and trusting mind towards the organization, we also desire from our community leaders and representatives who are present here, the ownership of all Social Investment programme, be it training or infrastructure because they are meant for the betterment of our people.”
On behalf of the Community Representatives, Hon. Dayo Ogunyinka thanked the Dangote Cement management for the workshop while assuring continued commitment to effective, efficient and selfless discharge of their roles and responsibilities to their various communities and the Plant.
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has announced revisions to the Maximum Deposit Insurance Coverage for banks operating within the country.
NDIC’s Managing Director, Bello Hassan, disclosed the updated coverage benchmarks during a media briefing in Abuja on Thursday.
The coverage for Deposit Money Banks has been increased from N500,000 to N5 million, for Microfinance Banks from N200,000 to N2 million, for Primary Mortgage Banks from N500,000 to N2 million, and for Mobile Money Operators subscribers’ pass-through from N500,000 to N5 million per subscriber.
Hassan underscored that the objective of the update is to enhance depositor safety, foster public trust, promote the inclusivity of financial services, and ensure the overall stability of the financial sector.
More to follow.. . .. .
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