Economy
Court Orders Seplat Chairman to Pay Diamond Bank, Skye Bank $114m
By Dipo Olowookere
Founder and chairman of Seplat Petroleum Development Company (Seplat) Plc, Mr Ambrosie Bryant Chukwueloka Orjiako, has been directed to pay the sum of $144.2 million to three banks being the outstanding and accrued interest of a facility granted to him and one of his companies in 2011.
Seplat is a company trading its shares on both the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
The trained medical doctor and his firm, Shebah Exploration and Production Company Limited had dragged Skye Bank (now defunct and known as Polaris Bank), Diamond Bank and the Africa Import Export Bank to a court in Lagos, seeking for the judgement of a Court of England and Wales, which awarded $143.9 million to the three lenders, to be set aside.
But the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi has certified judgment delivered by the High Court of Justice Queen’s Bench Division and upheld by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, directing Shebah Exploration & Production Company Ltd, Allenne Ltd and its president, Mr Orjiako to pay the three financial institutions a sum of $144.2 million.
According to ThisDay, the Lagos court certified the judgments on March 28 and ordered the defendants to comply with the judgment, denying them the permission to appeal it.
The first defendant, Shebah Exploration & Production Company Ltd is a Nigerian company engaged in oil exploration and production while the second defendant, Allenne Ltd is the guarantor of the borrowed loan.
The third defendant, Mr Orjiako, is the President of Shebah and a personal guarantor of the liabilities of Shebah and Allenne pursuant to a Deed of Guarantee and Indemnity dated July 1, 2011.
The claimants had dragged the defendants before the High Court of Justice Queen’s Bench Division in order to be able to recover an outstanding of the facility loan granted to them.
The claimants had apply for a summary judgment against the defendants for sums outstanding under a syndicated loan facility agreement totalling over $144.2 million, together with interest on those sums.
They had prayed the court to determine whether it is arguable that, in entering the Facility Agreement, the parties were contracting on the claimants’ written standard terms of business so as to engage section 3 of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1997 (‘UCTA’).
In a judgment delivered by Mr Justice Phillips of the High Court of Justice Queen’s Bench Division on February 19, 2016, the court said Shebah had taken the loan for purpose of discharging certain of its existing borrowing and to provide working capital for its operations, including funding for a work-over programme to stimulate production at oil wells in the Ukpokiti oil field.
According to the court, the defendants never denied that the claimants advanced $150 million to Shebah pursuant to the Facility Agreement, nor dispute that, apart from paying one instalment of $6,111,111.11 in June 2012 but Shebah has failed to meet any further repayment instalment, despite the claimants agreeing to the deferral of several instalments.
The judge said in a previous proceeding, which commenced on March 11, 2014, the defendants agreed that, in exchange for the claimants’ discontinuing the proceedings, Shebah would repay all sums outstanding under the Facility Agreement in two tranches: $49.999,999.86 (with accrued interest) by April 30, 2014 and the balance of the loans and interest by July 1, 2014.
He added that Shebah failed to pay any part of the sum due on April 30, 2014. “The claimants were therefore entitled, under the terms of the Discontinuance Agreement, to commence fresh proceedings in respect of their claims.
These proceedings were commenced on June 2014, repeating the claims previously made and adding a claim against Shebah in respect of the $49.999,999.86 due under the Discontinuance Agreement”, the judge said.
Phillips stated that notwithstanding their previous stance, the defendants now contended that no sums whatsoever are due to the claimants, adding that they (the defendants) have arguable defence to the claim.
The judge however ruled that there is no merit in the defendants’ contention on the issues on the ground that there is simply no basis for inferring that the claimants, or any of them, habitually put forward the LMA form (or a tailored version of it) as a basis for their syndicated loan transactions.
“The most likely scenario is that it was chosen or selected by the claimants’ lawyer and that they will have adapted it to reflect the specifics of the transactions. It is impossible to draw any inferences as to what starting points may have been taken in other transactions, involving other permutations of lenders and other lawyers.
“I therefore satisfied that the defendants do not have a realistic prospect of establishing at trial that the Facilities Agreement is on the claimants’ written standard terms of business. The suggestion that the disclosure might alter the position is a classic example of hoping that something may turn up, in this case a forlorn hope given the evidence that there was in fact a degree of real negotiation of the final terms.”
Phillips in his judgment held that whilst the claimants’ purported acceleration of the loans on October 16, 2013 was ineffective, the defendants do not have a defence to the claimants’ alternative case, based upon the acceleration notice dated October 2, 2014 and subsequent demands dated April 14, 2015 and July 27, 2015.
“For the reasons set out above, the claimants are entitled to summary judgment against all three defendants for (i) the principal outstanding under the Facility Agreement of $143,888,888.89, subject to giving credit for the sum paid during the course of this application and the sums conceded in respect of default charges and hedging fees; (ii) the management fees claimed; and (iii) interest calculated on the alternative basis that the loan was accelerated on October 2, 2014”, the judge held.
Dissatisfied with the judgment, the defendants approached the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, seeking to quash the judgment.
Ruling on the defendants’ application, the Supreme Court sitting comprising Lord Mance, Lord Reed and Lord Lloyd-Jones upheld the decision of the lower court and refused the permission to appeal the decision.
“After consideration of the application filed on behalf of the Appellants seeking permission to appeal the order made by the Court of Appeal on June 28,2017 and of the notice of objection filed by the Respondents.
“The court ordered that (1). Permission to appeal be refused because the application does not raise an arguable point of law of general importance. “(2). The Appellants pay the Respondents costs of the application and, where the Respondents apply for costs, the costs to be awarded be assessed.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange further appreciated by 0.23 per cent on Thursday, April 23, with the Unlisted Security Index (NSI) adding 8.99 points to close at 3,969.96 points against the previous day’s 3,968 points.
The rise in the share price of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc by N2.86 to N69.34 per unit from N66.48 per unit raised the market capitalisation of the NASD bourse by N5.38 billion to N2.380 trillion from N2.375 trillion.
Yesterday, there were two price losers, led by Food Concepts Plc, which lost 29 Kobo to sell at N2.65 per share versus N2.94 per share, while UBN Property Plc dipped by 22 Kobo to N2.03 per unit from N2.25 per unit.
During the session, the volume of securities traded declined by 97.9 per cent to 451,522 units from 21.5 million units on Wednesday, the value of securities depreciated by 52.32 per cent to N23.6 million from N49.5 million, and the number of deals depreciated by 3.6 per cent to 27 deals from 28 deals.
At the close of business, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.5 million units exchanged for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units traded for N1.9 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units sold for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Fresh foreign exchange (forex) demand pressure saw the Naira depreciate against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, April 22, by N5.46 or 0.4 per cent to trade at N1,353.91/$1 compared with the preceding day’s value of N1,348.45/$1.
It was the same outcome for the local currency in the official market after it depreciated against the Pound Sterling by N4.13 to close at N1,825.88/£1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,821.75/£1, and against the Euro, it dropped 72 Kobo to finish at N1,582.72/€1 versus N1,582.00/€1.
But the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk by N2 during the session to quote at N1,361/$1 compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N1,361/$1, and at the parallel market, it closed flat at N1,375/$1.
FX Pressure came as data showed that NFEM interbank turnover was N28.117 million, lower than the N66.084 million recorded the previous day.
Concerns over liquidity pressures, policy transparency, and confidence in Nigeria’s FX market continue to grip the market while the country’s foreign reserve declines further, even as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently said that the recent decline in Nigeria’s external reserves should not be a cause for concern.
Global developments also played a significant role, as rising geopolitical tensions boosted demand for the US Dollar, further weakening emerging market currencies, including the Naira.
As for the cryptocurrency market, there was a mixed outcome as traders reacted to rising geopolitical tensions from the Iran war and fresh inflation data from Japan.
Japanese inflation ticked higher in March, stoking expectations that the Bank of Japan may soon signal rate hikes, which could strengthen the yen and unsettle global risk assets.
The Iran conflict has disrupted oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, raising energy costs and inflation risks worldwide and potentially complicating efforts by the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates.
Ethereum (ETH) declined by 1.8 per cent to $2,316.53, Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.6 per cent to sell at $77,935.53, Solana (SOL) fell by 0.5 per cent to $85.67, and Binance Coin (BNB) dropped 0.4 per cent to sell for $634.85.
However, Dogecoin (DOGE) appreciated by 1.4 per cent to $0.0976, Ripple (XRP) grew by 0.7 per cent to $1.43, Cardano (ADA) expanded by 0.6 per cent to $0.2493, and TRON (TRX) improved by 0.2 per cent to $0.3279, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The resilience shown by Nigerian Breweries Plc in the 2025 fiscal year, despite a volatile macroeconomic environment, which consumed several businesses, has not got without notice.
Shareholders of the brewery giant applauded the board and management for the strong recovery and improved profitability recorded in the year.
At the company’s 80th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in Lagos, they attributed these achievements to disciplined cost management and a significant reduction in finance expenses.
“We are proud of how the company has withstood the ups and downs of a challenging environment. The return to profitability and the reversal of the negative cash position recorded in the previous two financial years are commendable,” a member of the Noble Shareholders Association, Mr Owolabi Opeyemi, said at the gathering.
Also, the immediate past Secretary of the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Mr Eke Emmanuel, noted that the company’s resilience reflects strong leadership and a sound strategic direction.
“It is good news that we have been here for 80 years. There is no reason why we will not be here for the next 80 years with what we have achieved. To return to this level of profitability and cash position shows the Board has done an enormous amount of work,” he said.
Addressing investors at the AGM, the board chairman, Mrs Juliet Anammah, expressed confidence that the company is firmly on a recovery path following the net losses recorded in the past two years due to macroeconomic pressures and fiscal reforms.
She thanked shareholders for their continued support and reaffirmed that the company will build on its 2025 performance as it accelerates growth ambitions.
“We have a solid foundation built over eight decades, anchored on a strong portfolio of brands, an extensive nationwide sales and supply chain network, ongoing digital transformation, and most importantly, our people. These strengths remain critical to sustaining our leadership position,” the former chief executive of Jumia Nigeria said.
Ms Anammah also addressed the company’s dividend position, noting that the decision not to declare a dividend reflects the need to rebuild retained earnings impacted by prior macroeconomic shocks, particularly foreign exchange-related losses.
“We recognise the importance of dividend payments to our shareholders and sincerely appreciate your continued understanding. While we are not declaring a dividend at this time due to negative retained earnings, we are working diligently to restore the company’s financial position and return to dividend payments as soon as it is sustainable to do so,” she added.
She further noted that the board remains vigilant to external risks, including the Middle East crisis and broader macroeconomic challenges, which may impact the pace of improvement in the 2026 financial year.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
1 Comment