A shareholder of FBN Holdings Plc, Sunday Aborisade, has asked a Federal High Court in Lagos to set aside the interim order restraining the firm from going ahead with its Annual General Meeting (AGM) that was held on 15th August, 2023.
The request to set aside the interim order was contained in Aborisade’s motion seeking to join as a party in the suit filed by three other shareholders against the firm. Aborisade filed the motion for joinder through his lawyer, Kazeem Gbadamosi (SAN).
The three aggreived shareholders in the suit marked FHC/L/CP/1575/23 are; Olojede Adewole Solomon, Adebayo Oluwafemi Abayomi, and Ogundiran Emmanuel Adejare.
When the matter came up for hearing today, the applicant (Aborisade) told Justice Akintoye Aluko that the interim order was fraudulently obtained by supression of facts.
Arguing the motion on behalf of his client, Gbadamosi said: “My lord, the order ought not to have been made if the facts were laid bare before you. I urge my lord to set it aside. Apart from settings aside the order, I also urge the court to join me as party as the order made affected me.
“Assuming the meeting was not held virtually, I would not have received my dividends. The AGM is like a market, can a market be stopped from not holding?”.
Justice Aluko had earlier refused an application by FBN Holdings to stay further proceedings in the matter. The judge held that the applicant did not challenge the jurisdiction of the court in its notice of appeal.
The court further held that filing a notice of appeal is not an automatic ground for stay of proceedings.
Meanwhile, FBN Holdings Plc have urged the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, to stay and suspend the execution of the Interim order of the court stopping its Annual General Meeting (AGM).
The firm is also asking the appeal court for an order staying further proceedings in the suit before the lower court pending the hearing and determination of the appeal against the ruling of the court delivered on the 9th of August, 2023.
In its notice of appeal, FBN Holdings’ lawyer, Mutalubi Adebayo (SAN) argued that the execution of the ruling of the lower court obtained by the petitioners/respondents will render the decision of the Court of Appeal nugatory.
He also stated that the ‘res’ of the case will be destroyed in the event the application for stay and/or suspension of execution is not granted.
“If the ruling of this Honourable Court is enforced, the applicant would ultimately be left with an irreversibly empty victory in the event of the success of the appeal.
“The Annual General Meeting of a public limited company like the Defendant/Applicant is a statutory meeting that is essential and must be held in order for the Defendant/ Applicant not to run afoul of multiple industry regulators”, the lawyer added.
