Justice Liman of a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered Ecobank Nigeria to pay N72.2 billion in damages to Honeywell Flour Mills Plc.
In delivering judgement on Honeywell Flour Mills’s protracted suit against Ecobank Nigeria, the judge held that: “The plaintiff’s right to the damages sought had crystallised and the plaintiff had a right to maintain this action”, adding that “the argument of the defendant has no basis”.
In 2018, Honeywell Flour Mills filed the suit FHC/L/CS/1554/2018 against Ecobank Nigeria Limited, seeking legal redress for the losses incurred due to an ex-parte asset freezing order granted to Ecobank Nigeria in 2015.
Ecobank swore an oath to indemnify Honeywell Flour Mills if the ex-parte orders were deemed frivolous. In his arguments, counsel to Honeywell Flour Mills, Mr. Bode Olanipekun, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, argued that the Supreme Court’s determination that the ex-parte orders obtained by Ecobank were improper, implies that the application was frivolous.
This led to Honeywell Flour Mills seeking damages for losses suffered.
Throughout the proceedings, Olanipekun contended that Ecobank’s actions inflicted significant harm and financial losses on business operations.
Following the judgement, the counsel said: “It’s a commendable decision and precedent in an area of our jurisprudence that has been scarcely tested. The court has awarded damages in a claim brought on the premise of an undertaking given for the grant of ex-parte orders which both the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court have found were improperly sought and granted”.
All four reliefs sought by Honeywell Flour Mills to the tune of N72.2 billion were granted in its entirety by Justice Liman. The court, said: “The defendant’s arguments in this regard cannot stand. I have no hesitation in granting reliefs in favour of the plaintiff”.
