A Federal High Court, Lagos has refused to hear an application to lift a mareva injunction barring South African retail company, Shoprite Checkers (PTY) Limited, from transferring its assets.
Vacation judge, Nicholas Oweibo, said the matter was not urgent enough to be heard during the court’s ongoing vacation.
Shoprite is seeking to overturn a July 14, 2020 mareva injunction made by Justice Mohammed Liman of the same court in favour of a Nigerian firm, A.I.C. Limited.
A.I.C. Limited, which in 2018 secured a $10m judgment against Shoprite in a breach of contract lawsuit, obtained the injunction against the backdrop of Shoprite’s announcement to pull out of Nigeria.
The $10m judgment was entered in favour of A.I.C. Limited in 2018 against Shoprite by Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja.
Displeased with the judgment, Shoprite had gone on appeal but it equally lost at the Court of Appeal and has now gone to the Supreme Court.
While the matter is pending at the apex court, the firm announced it was going to pull out of the country.