The management of Fidken Multi Services Ltd. has called on the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, to investigate what it described as alleged judicial manipulation and connivance in a lingering legal dispute between the company and Togo Oil & Marine Ltd (TOM), owners of the vessel MV MONTY J & ANOR.
The company is also demanding the intervention of the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, and the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede, to probe and bring to justice military personnel who were allegedly complicit in aiding the escape of the foreign-owned vessel from Nigeria in defiance of a subsisting court order.
Managing Director of Fidken Multi Services Ltd., Engr. Kennedy Fidelis, made the appeal in a statement made available to journalists on Wednesday in Warri, Delta State.
According to Engr. Fidelis, the company had entered into a six-month renewable agreement with TOM for the use of the vessel MV MONTY J. However, the vessel reportedly broke down just two weeks after its delivery to Nigeria from Lome, Togo.
He explained that TOM, through ship brokers identified as Socemet, had promised to bear the cost of repairs as per the contract terms. Instead, representatives of TOM allegedly pleaded with Fidken to finance the repair of the vessel, claiming the company was financially incapacitated at the time.
“TOM, during the plea, said that the company was bankrupt to foot the bill of the repair, just as the company promised to make a refund of any amount spent on the repair or make deduction during execution of the contract,” Fidelis stated.
Motivated by the promise of a refund or cost recovery through contract execution, Fidken took full responsibility for the repairs to mitigate the business downtime and financial losses caused by the breakdown.
However, according to Fidelis, soon after the repair was completed, TOM made several covert attempts to sell the vessel without notifying Fidken. He described this move as a flagrant breach of the contract, especially given the company’s financial investment in restoring the vessel.
“After several attempts to take away the vessel from us, they finally escaped with the vessel back to Lome, Togo, in spite of a restraining order by the Court of Appeal in Appeal No: CA/LAG/CV/991/2024,” he added.
Fidken’s legal team had approached the court seeking a full bank guarantee of USD 380,729.00, USD 1,080,000.00, and USD 659,555.00 to cover its claims, withthe Appeal Court placing a restraining order on the vessel’s release pending the outcome of the matter.
Engr. Fidelis expressed shock at a ruling from the Federal High Court that ordered only USD 380,729.00 as a guarantee for the release of the vessel.
“We approached the court to demand a full bank guarantee of USD 380,729.00, USD 1,080,000.00 and USD 659,555.00 to cover our total claims as pre-bond condition ordered by the Appeal Court should they go away with the vessel. But surprisingly, the Federal High Court in its judgement awarded the sum of USD 380,729.00 only as a guarantee for the release of the vessel.
This sum can only cater for a part of the expenses we have incurred in maintaining the vessel, so we approached the Court of Appeal, and a restraining order was immediately placed on the release of the vessel,” he explained.
“But this foreign company, in connivance with security agents, jettisoned the order and moved the vessel out of the country.
“The judgment by the Federal High Court was a surprise to us. We couldn’t believe that in spite of the evidence our legal team presented, the presiding judge could give such a judgement. And this is why we are calling on the Attorney-General to investigate this. Also, some security agents aided this company to escape with the vessel,” he concluded.
Supporting the company’s claims, Comrade Omentan Parson, a human rights activist who has been following the case, said this was the fifth time TOM had attempted to abscond with the vessel.
He further alleged that Nigerian security personnel were involved in the abduction of a security officer assigned to guard the vessel, an issue he said would soon be filed in court.
“It’s quite unfortunate that Nigerian security agents whose monthly pay is from tax payers (Nigerians) could be used by a foreign company against fellow Nigerians. This is very bad. They (security agents) aided every step of the vessel in making sure it escaped from this country,” he said.
“I was by the jetty in Port Harcourt where I saw security agents supervise the bunkering of the vessel and provide an escort gunboat with personnel in making sure she left the shores of Nigeria.”
Attempts by journalists to reach Mrs. Jessica Jones, the foreign contact and Managing Director of TOM, proved abortive as calls to her mobile phone did not connect and text messages sent were not replied to.
