Nigeria: Court fixes August 5 to hear suit against Arik aircrafts seizure

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Justice Njideka Nwosu-Iheme of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Wednesday fixed Monday, August 5 to hear a suit brought before the court by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), seeking to stop the seizure of the aircrafts and other properties belonging to Arik Air Limited over $2.5 million indebtedness.

A former judge of the FCT High Court, Justice Olukayode Adeniyi, now of the Court of Appeal, had on June 26 issued an order directing the attachment and sale of all movable properties of the Arik Air Limited found within the jurisdiction of the court.

Following the court order, the judgment creditor while enforcing the order subsequently seized aircrafts, aircrafts hangers, especially Boeing 737 with registration numbers: B737.700/5N-MJF, B737.800/5N-MJQ, DASH8.Q400 and 5N-BKK in satisfaction of the $2.5 million debt against the airline.

However, AMCON had, through a motion on notice, approached the court following Monday’s seizure of Arik’s aircrafts and other assets by the Atlas Petroleum International Ltd and its sponsor.

In the motion on notice, AMCON sought the order of the court stopping the continued seizure of the Arik Airlines properties on the grounds that the airline was already under another receivership following its indebtedness to Zenith Bank Plc to the tune of N37 billion.

At today’s sitting to hear the motion, the court could not proceed with the hearing following the discovery that the Deputy Sheriff, saddled with the responsibility of enforcing and executing court judgments, was not served with the motion as required by law.

The development prompted Justice Nwosu-Iheme to fix August 5 and 12 respectively for hearing of the AMCON’s motion.

Speaking with journalists shortly after the proceedings, counsel for Atlas Petroleum Limited, Sebastine Hon SAN, confirmed that AMCON filed the motion seeking to stop the enforcement of the order against Arik Airline over its huge debt to his clients.

According to him, while his clients were in the process of enforcement, AMCON surprisingly came to intervene, claiming that Arik Air was under receivership, saying that AMCON was aware of the matter right from the Lagos High Court to the Supreme Court were judgments were given against Arik.

“We are going on with the enforcement as permitted by the law. We will not flout the law or any order of court but as it is, the Minister of Aviation who was served with the enforcement orders has succeeded in grounding two aircrafts which are not related to the application AMCON brought to court to stop the enforcement,” the senior advocate said.