A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered 20 commercial banks in Nigeria to dishonour all withdrawal cheques from Mr. Sani Dangote, younger brother to Alhaji Aliko Dangote, and his companies, Dansa Foods Limited and Bulk Pack Services Limited. Justice Okon Abang, who made the order on Thursday in a bench ruling, said the order would subsist till September 11, 2014, when the court would entertain all applications in a suit brought by Union Bank Plc against Dangote and his companies.
The judge also ordered all the banks involved to, within five days of the interim order, file affidavits declaring the defendants statement of accounts with them. Union Bank had taken Dangote and his companies to court over alleged refusal to liquidate about N5.2bn loan granted them since September, 2008.
The bank, through its lawyer, Mr. Chukwudi Enebeli from the chambers of Mr. Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), had instituted suits seeking an order of mareva injunction to restrain all the defendants’ bankers in Nigeria from allowing them withdraw funds from their accounts pending the determination of the suits.
The banks named include Access, CITI, Diamond, Ecobank, Enterprise, Fidelity, Keystone, Mainstreet, Skye, Wema, Heritage, Sterling, Unity and Zenith banks. Others are First Bank, First City Monument Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Standard Chartered Bank and United Bank for Africa.