Court Adjourns Oando, SEC Suit to June 24

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The suit between Oando Plc and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been adjourned to Monday, June 24, 2019.

The matter is presently before Justice Cecilia Mojisola Olatoregun of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos.

At the hearing Thursday, June 13, 2019, the court directed that the respondents’ preliminary objection and the substantive application for enforcement of fundamental rights should be taken together at the next adjourned date.

Also, the court ruled that all parties involved are to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the motion.

Oando, which is challenging SEC’s sanction on it, its Group Chief Executive, Mr Adewale Tinubu, and Deputy Group Chief Executive, Mr Omamofe Boyo, had earlier received an order of interim injunction restraining SEC, its servants, agents, employees and/or privies from taking any step concerning and/or acting on the decisions contained in its letter of May 31, 2019, imposing a fine of N91,125,000 on Mr Tinubu and barring both Mr Tinubu and Mr Boyo from being Directors of public companies for a period of 5 years.

The firm also got an order of interim injunction restraining Mutiu Olaniyi Adio Sunmonu from acting as the head of the Interim Management of Oando Plc and an order staying and/or suspending the execution or the enforcement of the SEC’s decisions contained in its letter dated May 31, 2019 imposing a fine of N91,125,000 on Jubril Adewale Tinubu and barring both Jubril Adewale Tinubu and Omamofe Boyo from being Directors of public companies for a period of 5 years.

It further got an order restraining the SEC, its servants and its agents from directing, requesting any Agency of the Government from acting upon the SECs decisions contained in its letter dated May 31, 2019.

In a statement released today, Oando said pursuant to the court order, its “management team and Board of Directors as at the date of this release (save for the two (2) non-executive directors departure announced on June 7, 2019) remain unchanged pending the outcome of the hearing of the various applications filed by the parties.