Alleged N17m Debt: Telecom Firm Asks Court To Wind Up Conoil Plc

A telecommunications service provider, Hoop Telecoms Limited, has urged a Federal High Court in Lagos to wind up Conoil Plc for its alleged inability to pay a debt of N17,162,173.38 million.
Hoop Telecoms Limited, which made the application in a winding-up petition marked FHC/L/CP/400/25, is also asking the court to appoint a provisional liquidator to take over and preserve all assets of Conoil Plc until the petition is resolved.

The petitioner is also praying to the court for an order empowering it to decommission and retrieve all telecommunications equipment currently located at the respondent‘s various premises, as detailed in the petitioner’s correspondence dated April 17, 2024.

The telecoms firm further urged the court for an order granting the petitioner and/or the liquidator the authority to take over, appropriate, or otherwise utilise the respondent‘s investments, shares, or other interests in any company or corporate entity, whether in Nigeria or abroad.

The petitioner also wants the court to grant an order allowing the petitioner to distribute the proceeds from the sale of the respondent’s properties, chattels, and interests as defined in reliefs 2 and 3 above to creditors, including the petitioner.

In an affidavit filed supporting the petition, the petitioner claimed that it and the respondent entered into an agreement in which the petitioner provided internet services, agreeing to pay through either the supply of diesel or cash for the services rendered.

The firm also alleged that their relationship soured in 2022 when the respondent allegedly failed to supply diesel or make the required cash payments for the services provided by the petitioner.

However, in its statement of defence, Conoil Plc denied most of the petitioner‘s claims. It stated that there was no disagreement between the petitioner and the respondent as described in the petition and that the company is not insolvent.