At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, counsel to the FG, Prof Fabian Ajogwu (SAN), notified the court that the government was ready to make its case before the court. He observed that the matters at hand were extremely important and ought to be heard urgently, as the government had been needlessly deprived of revenues that were due to it for over four years.
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has consolidated a suit challenging the execution of an award and the Federal Government’s application for enforcement of the Award.
Justice Ayokunle Faji set down the hearing of the Federal Government’s suit for the enforcement of its arbitral award against two international oil companies - Atlantic Energy Drilling Concept Nigeria Limited and Atlantic Energy Brass Development Limited till January 22, 2020.
At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, counsel to the FG, Prof Fabian Ajogwu (SAN), notified the court that the government was ready to make its case before the court. He observed that the matters at hand were extremely important and ought to be heard urgently, as the government had been needlessly deprived of revenues that were due to it for over four years.
Recall that sometime in August 2015, the IOCs in question had taken government to arbitration over alleged breaches of contract.
However, their claim failed and the FG, through Ajogwu obtained a landmark arbitral award to the tune of around $1.7bn against the said IOCs for their failure to remit funds due to the government from crude oil operations on the Brass and Forcados assets.
Whilst taking cognisance of the submissions of Ajogwu, Justice Faji directed the IOCs to respond to the FG’s court processes for the enforcement of the award (which were served on them since July 2019) and
thereafter adjourned the matter to January 22, 2020 for hearing.
Efforts by our correspondent to speak the lawyer, who represented Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Limited and Atlantic Brass Development Limited, proved abortive as she left the court premises immediately after the case was adjourned.