Nova Commercial Bank has petitioned the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos to grant an order winding up Sunrise Products Ltd for failure to liquidate a $2,587,891.21 and N276,567,150.63 debt allegedly owed to the bank.
The bank averred that Sunrise Products Ltd is bankrupt and, despite repeated demands by the creditor, which has also served the firm the statutory three-week notice under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), the debtor has been unable to defray the debt.
The petitioner made the winding up prayer in a petition filed on December 19, 2024, by its lawyer Mr. Kemi Balogun (SAN), in a suit FHC/L/CP/2357/24.
Specifically, Nova Bank prayed for “An order granting leave to the Petitioner/Applicant to advertise the Winding-up Petition of the Respondent, Sunrise Products Limited, once in the Federal Government Official Gazette, one national daily newspaper and other Newspaper circulating in Lagos State, where the registered office and principal place of business of the Respondent is situate or in such other Newspaper as the Court may direct in compliance with the Companies Winding-Up Rules 2001.”
Furthermore, Nova Bank informed the court that there is “a real and imminent risk of the Respondent dissipating and disposing of its assets within jurisdiction.”
It prayed the court to make other orders to preserve the debtor’s assets, otherwise the judgment of the court in the suit, if given in favour of the Petitioner would be rendered nugatory and the Petitioner would be left with nothing.
Thus, the bank filed a motion on notice against Sunrise Products, joining the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and 21 banks, seeking to protect the Respondent’s assets.
The 21 banks are Access Bank Plc, Citi Bank Plc, Ecobank Nigeria Ltd, Fidelity Bank Plc, First City Momument Bank Ltd, First Bank Of Nigeria Ltd, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Jaiz Bank Plc, Keystone Bank Ltd, Polaris Bank Ltd, Providus Bank Plc, Stanbic Ibtc Bank Plc, Sterling Bank Plc, Standard Chartered Bank Plc, Sun Trust Bank Ltd, Taj Bank Plc, Titan Trust Bank Ltd, Wema Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, Union Bank Of Nig Plc and United Bank For Africa Plc.
The motion on notice prayed for several reliefs, including “An order of appointing the Deputy Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court, Lagos, as Provisional Liquidator of the Respondent to take over and oversee the affairs and continuous running of the Respondent’s Company pending the grant of the Winding-up Order.
“An order of interlocutory injunction restraining the Respondents, their Directors, members of Staff, Management, employees, officers, agents, privies or any other person or group of persons whatsoever under the Respondent’s authority or any other authority (howsoever derived or sourced) from operating, withdrawing from and/or otherwise tampering with the Respondent’s funds under whatsoever name or guise in the cited Bank or financial institutions pending the grant of the Winding-up Order by this Honourable Court.
“An order of interlocutory injunction restraining the Respondent, their agents, servants and/or privies from tampering with, alienating, transferring and/or otherwise dissipating or otherwise appropriating the Respondents’ fixed and movable assets howsoever described and called, pending the grant of the Winding-up Order.”
An order directing the CSCS and the 21 respondent banks “to hold and disclose by way of a sworn affidavit filed within 5 days upon being notified of the order of this honourable Court, particulars of all assets, monies, real estate, stock, funds, bonds, cash deposits, bank guarantees, letters of credit and all negotiable instruments in the name of the Respondents up to the sum of $2,587,891.21 and N276,567,150.63 being the outstanding indebtedness of the Respondent to the Petitioner as at 21st October, 2024 pending the grant of the Winding-up Order.”
Nova Commercial Bank informed the court that the grounds upon which the application was made include that the three weeks statutory demand notice served on the Respondent has since elapsed, “yet the Respondent has neglected to pay or to secure or compound for same to the reasonable satisfaction of the Petitioner.
“The Respondent is unable to liquidate its indebtedness. By Section 574(1) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), Section 6(6) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, Rule 183 of the Companies Winding-Up Rules, 2001, Order 30 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019, this Honourable court has the power to make interim orders or any other orders that it thinks fit in hearing and determining a Petition, and particularly to preserve the RES of the suit.
“Substantially the whole of the assets of the Respondent are personal in nature and are liable to be dissipated, removed, destroyed, and or otherwise evaporated by the alter egos of the Respondent unless a restraining order is granted to prevent the res from being dissipated.
“There is a real and imminent risk of the Respondent dissipating and disposing of its assets within jurisdiction and unless the order of this court sought herein is made to preserve the said assets the judgment of this court, if given in favour of the Petitioner will be rendered nugatory and the Petitioner will be left with nothing.
“It is in the overall interest of justice that this application is granted to secure depositor’s funds packaged as facilities for the Respondent.”