N17.8bn Debt: Court To Determine Jurisdiction On Afex Exchange’s Case

Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos will, on January 30, 2025, determine whether it has jurisdiction to continue to hear the suit filed by Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) against Afex Exchange Commodities Limited over an alleged debt of N17,808,452,467.17.

Justice Aneke adjourned the suit after listening to arguments from counsel to GTBANK, Chief Ajibola Aribisala (SAN), and Professor Wale Olawoyin (SAN), counsel for Afex Commodities Exchange Limited.

At the resumed hearing of the case, Aribisala challenged Prof Olawoyin’s appearance as counsel, citing Order 17(5) of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, which prohibits a lawyer from representing a party in a case where the lawyer is a party.

Aribisala informed the court that Olawoyin’s act of contempt was filing an appeal against a ruling that did not affect his client.

The lawyer urged the court to proceed with the contempt proceedings filed on November 19, 2024, submitting that Olawoyin’s right to appear as a legal practitioner in the case had been suspended.

In his response, Prof Olawoyin noted that the matter was scheduled for mention and that the contempt issue was not yet due for a hearing.

He informed the court that his client had filed a Notice of Appeal, transmitted records of the appeal, and submitted a brief of arguments.

The law professor also highlighted a pending motion for a stay of proceedings before the court, emphasising that the court does not have jurisdiction to continue to entertain the matter.

He said, “The contempt issue is not before the court. When the contempt proceedings are due for a hearing, we will address the matter of legal representation.

“There is an appeal and a motion for a stay of proceedings, and therefore, the court cannot deal with any other issues at this time but must await the outcome of the appeal,” he stated.

Justice Aneke agreed with him, holding that the court must first rule on its jurisdiction to continue hearing the case before addressing any other applications.

He then adjourned the matter to January 30, 2025, for a ruling.

The court had previously restrained Afex from disputing the claims in the suit based on its interpretation of the Global Standing Instruction (GSI) in a facility letter dated June 16, 2022.

But dissatisfied with this ruling, Afex filed a Notice of Appeal and requested a stay of proceedings pending the outcome of the appeal.

The application, filed under Order 4, Rules 3, 6, 11, and Order 6, Rule 1 of the Court of Appeal, seeks to prevent the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from enforcing the ex-parte order. It also requests a stay of proceedings in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/911/2024 until the appeal is resolved.

In support of the motion, a litigation clerk for Afex’s counsel, Mayowa Ajide, stated that the trial court had ordered all commercial banks in Nigeria to transfer N17,808,452,467.17 from Afex’s accounts to GTBank’s account.

The court had also restrained Afex from disputing GTBank’s claim based on its interpretation of the GSI in the June 2022 facility letter.

Ajide claimed that the ex-parte order was based on a flawed interpretation of the GSI and that a motion to vacate it was filed on May 31, 2024.

The situation escalated when GTBank initiated contempt proceedings against Afex on May 31, 2024, followed by similar proceedings against several banks on June 11, 2024, for allegedly failing to comply with the court’s orders.

He said, “On June 10, 2024, the trial court focused on the contempt proceedings instead of considering Afex’s application to set aside the ex-parte orders. The case was adjourned multiple times, with Afex raising legal objections, including questioning the judge’s competence to hear contempt proceedings related to hen orders.”

Ajide noted that the appeal raises significant legal issues. Afex has requested an injunction pending the appeal and a stay of proceedings, arguing that failure to grant the stay would undermine the appeal and deny Afex a fair hearing.