7th September, 2020
By Akin Kuponiyi/Lagos
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos south west Nigeria today rejected an application filed to lift an injunction restraining South African retail outlet, Shoprite Checkers (PTY) Limited, from transferring its assets.
Justice Nicholas Oweibo, said that:the matter was not urgent enough to be heard during the vacation period.
Shoprite is seeking to overturn a July 14, 2020 order of injunction made by Justice Mohammed Liman of the same court jurisdiction in favour of a Nigerian Company, A.I.C. Limited., owned by Chief Harry Akande.
A.I.C. Limited, in 2018 secured a $10m judgment against Shoprite in a breach of contract suit.
Then it obtained in July, an injunction against Shprite based on information that Shoprite is about to pull out of Nigeria.
Justice Liman restrained Shoprite “from transferring, assigning, charging, disposing of its trademark, franchise and intellectual property in a manner that will alter, dissipate or remove these non-cash assets and other assets, including but not limited to trade receivables, trade payables, payment for purchase of merchandise, from within the jurisdiction of this honourable court.”
Justice Liman also mandated the second respondent, Retail Supermarket Nigeria Limited, “to disclose its audited financial statements for the years ending 2018 and 2019 to enable the judgment creditor/applicant to determine the judgment debtor’s/respondent’s funds in its custody in order to preserve same in satisfaction of the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Appeal No: CA/L/288/2018.”
The $10million judgment was entered in favour of A.I.C. Limited against Shoprite by Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja.
Dissatisfied with the judgment, Shoprite went to the Court of Appeal.
However, the appellate court affirmed the judgement of the lower court.
Shoprite has now lodged a further appeal at the Supreme Court.