A Federal High Court in Abuja has issued a restraining order against the Federal Government stopping the latter from taking any action that may cripple the operations and freeze the accounts of AITEO Eastern E & P Company Limited.
Justice Gabriel Kolawole made the order after entertaining an ex parte motion filed by Chief Mike Ozekhome on behalf of the company.
AITEO, a Limited Liability Company, is a major player in the upstream sector of Nigeria’s oil industry.
The company is also a joint operator of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29, an asset jointly owned by the firm and the Federal government through the NNPC, which owns 55 per cent of the said asset.
The ex-parte application is seeking an order of interim injunction restraining the defendants from interfering with or obstructing the business operations of the company.
The defendants in the case are Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Arguing the motion, Ozekhome had urged the court to make a preservative order for maintenance of the “status quo”.
He said it was in order to stop the defendants from taking any steps prejudicial to the business concerns and activities of his client.
Ozekhome had also argued that if a preservative order was not made immediately against the defendants, recent developments showed that the EFCC could spring surprises by freezing accounts of the company or sealing it’s business premises.
In his ruling, Justice Kolawole ordered the Federal government to maintain the “status quo” pending the determination of the motion on notice filed by AITEO against the defendants.
He further ordered the AGF and the EFCC to show cause on December 18 why the reliefs sought by the plaintiff in the motion ex parte should not be granted.
He therefore adjourned the matter to December 18.