Court Declares Seizure Of Benedict Peters’ UK Investment Illegal, Orders Enforcement Of Verdict

Justice Adegbola Adeniyi of the High Court Justice of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has ordered the enforcement of the judgement of the court granted against British Government over planned takeover of business interest of billionaire Nigerian businessman and chairman of AITEO, Mr Benedict Peters.

Justice Adeniyi, in his ruling, dated October 10, 2023, granted the leave to Benedict Peters to serve and register and enforce the judgments of Nigerian courts of competent jurisdiction to the British government.

The court said, “Upon listening to Emeka Ozoani, Esq. SAN (with Peter O. Abang, Esq. & Keren Bitto, Esq.) of learned counsel for the Claimants/Applicants moving in terms of the motion paper:
IT is hereby ordered: Application is considered to be meritorious and it is accordingly granted as prayed.

“Accordingly, leave is hereby granted to the Applicants to serve, register and enforce judgments of Nigerian Courts referred to in ground three of the application.”

Recall that in 2017, it declared that the actions of the British National Crime Agency, Crown Prosecution Service and their officers against Billionaire businessman, Mr. Benedict Peters, were unlawful and unconstitutional.

According to the court, the action constituted a common design targeted against the interests of Mr. Peters and his companies as well as their assets and properties.

The court described the action of the British government as a well coordinated operation to persecute an innocent man whose sources of income and business practices have been affirmed by numerous courts as legitimate.

The Judge also granted another application by Benedict Peters seeking for the court order for the British authorities, NCA, CPS , Immigration and Attorneys-General of different countries to be served the the 10 court judgements that have upheld his innocence in all the trumped-up charges against his person and business.

In a judgment in SUIT NO: FCT/HC/CV/0536/2017 between BENEDICT PETERS & 3 ORS V. ATTORNEY-GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION & 6 ORS, joined the
Attorney General of the Federation, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, National Crime Agency and Crown Prosecution Service and their officers Helen Hughes, Stacey Boniface and John Bavister while the Applicants are Mr. Benedict Peters and his companies Colinwood Ltd, Rosewood Investments Ltd and Walworth Properties Limited ass respondents.

The court further declared that the unlawful means of conspiracy against the defendants was to extract by intimidation, coercion, the assets, properties and monies to which the Claimants are legitimately entitled.

In a bold move, that court also awarded damages of Two Hundred Million Naira (approximately about Two Hundred Thousand British Pounds) in favour of the Claimants against the Defendants, jointly and severally, for the unlawful interference, economic loss, loss of corporate goodwill from creditors, expropriation of personal assets and proprietary rights of the Claimants.

It would be recalled that following the investigation of Diezani Allison-Madueke, the officers of the British NCA and CPS have been after Peters trying to take substantial part of his properties including the OML 29 oilwell and all the monies in his bank accounts.