Ten years after winning the bid for the purchase of the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON), Ikot Abasi, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to surrender the company to the BIF Group Corporation (BFI Group).
Justice Abdulkadir Abdulkafarati in a judgment on Tuesday ordered the BPE to “fully enforce, fulfil and give effect to the meaning and intendment of the judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in appeal No: SC 12/2008 dated July 6, 2012 by signing and executing forthwith, ‘the mutually agreed Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) annexed to the applicant’s motion’.”
The judge ordered that by the SPA, BPE should sell ALSCON to the applicant at a purchase price of $410 million.
He further ordered “that the respondent (BPE) shall accept 10 per cent of the purchase price or $41 million to be paid within 15 days of this enforcement order.
“The balance of $369 mil-
lion to be paid as per the audited financial statement as at the date of this judgment, September 30, 2014.”
The judgment was on the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/901/2013 filed BFI Group Corporation, with BPE as the respondent.
The suit was for the enforcement of the Supreme Court verdict dated July 6, 2012 in appeal No: SC/12/2008.
Justice Abdulkafarati noted the order in the Supreme Court’s judgment of July 6, 2012 compelling and mandating the respondent to forthwith take full control of ALSCON from anybody and from any further attack and prepare same for handover/transfer to the applicant subject to the payment by the applicant of the consideration provided for in the judgment of the Supreme Court.
To further give effect to the judgment of the Supreme Court, the judge ordered, by way of consequential reliefs, that the applicant (BFI Group), its employees and agents have full, uninterrupted, unrestricted access to ALSCON to conduct a first hand assessment of the business affairs of the company, including engineering, technical, financial, environmental, among others, as requested by the applicant.
Justice Abdulkafarati ordered the Inspector General of Police and all other security agencies to ensure that the orders were fully enforced.
The dispute had begun in 2004, when the BPE purportedly sold ALSCON to another company even when BFI Group emerged the preferred bidder.
BFI Group went to the Federal High Court, Abuja, in suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/583/2004 to seek an order of specific performance mandating the BPE to sell ALSCON to it in accordance with the terms of understanding/agreement for the sale of ALSCON dated May 20, 2004.
The high court and Court of Appeal refused to grant its prayers, but it headed for the Supreme Court, which granted the prayers in the judgement dated July 6, 2012.
The Supreme Court had among others, ruled as follows:
•An order of specific performance is hereby decreed directing the respondent to provide the mutually agreed Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) for execution of the parties to enable the plaintiff/appellant pay the agreed 10 per cent of the acceptable price of $410 million (that is $41m) within 15 working days from the day of the execution of the SPA in accordance with the agreement dated 20/5/2004 and the balance 90 per cent of bid price shall be paid within 90 calendar days.
•An order for the defendant/respondent to accept 10 per cent of the bid price from the plaintiff/appellant within 15 days from the day of signing the SPA.
•An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant/respondent, its agents and management from inviting any further bidding for the sale and acquisition of ALSCON in violation of the contract between the plaintiff/appellant and defendant/respondent and or from negotiating to sell, selling or transferring or handing over ALSCON to any person or persons in violation of the contract between the plaintiff/applicant and the defendant/respondent.
The apex court equally ordered the respondent shall pay N50,000 cost to the appellant.
