United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) has instituted contempt proceedings against nine individuals linked to Western Metal Products Company (WEMPCO), seeking their committal to prison over allegations that they forcibly removed a court-appointed receiver-manager from the group’s steel factory in Ogun State.
The bank alleged that the respondents’ actions frustrated a lawful attempt to recover N61.45 billion it claims the industrial conglomerate owes.
The committal proceedings were filed before the Federal High Court in Lagos, with a notice published in The Nation newspaper on Tuesday, October 27, pursuant to an order permitting service by newspaper publication.
The notice accuses the respondents of “wilful, deliberate and orchestrated disobedience” of a court order issued on April 2 and seeks their imprisonment until they comply with the order.
Those named in the proceedings are Lewis Shui Noor Tung, Phillip Shui Che Tung, Alhaji M.A. Ola Yusuf, Tung Lawrence Blake, Alli Aare Hadji Tokunbo, Paul Shui Po Tung, Robert Tung, CL Ip and Taiwo Alli. The court papers list their address as 18 Wempco Road, Ogba, Ikeja, Lagos.
Alli is the managing director of Nigerian Enamelware Company Plc, a company listed on the Nigerian Exchange and one of the 17 corporate defendants in the underlying dispute. Robert Tung is also a member of its board.
In the April 2 ruling, Justice Akintayo Aluko ordered the freezing of funds belonging to WEMPCO and related defendants, up to the value of N61,445,695,993.76, across 27 banks and financial technology platforms.
The judge also appointed Romeo Ese Michael as receiver-manager over assets not already pledged under a 2019 credit agreement.
According to an affidavit filed by UBA, after court bailiffs handed over the company’s Magboro/Ibafo plant to the receiver-manager, the respondents allegedly brought in thugs, broke the receiver’s locks and threatened his staff with “serious injury.”
The bank further alleged that the respondents continued operating the business and diverting its funds despite the court’s order.
The allegations are yet to be established by the court. WEMPCO’s response was not immediately available as of the time of filing this report.
Failed Efforts to Resolve Dispute
The contempt proceedings followed attempts by the parties to explore an amicable resolution of the dispute.
On June 22, WEMPCO’s lawyers, SimmonsCooper Partners, led by Dapo Akinosun, SAN, wrote to UBA requesting an urgent meeting to discuss the matter.
The proposal included an interim standstill arrangement, a joint reconciliation of the parties’ accounts and the development of a structured repayment framework.
However, UBA’s lawyer, Temilolu Adamolekun, SAN, questioned WEMPCO’s sincerity, arguing that the alleged use of physical force and resort to self-help to take control of the factory from the court-appointed receiver undermined the proposed negotiations.
The parties subsequently met at UBA’s head office on Marina, Lagos, on June 26 and agreed to conduct a joint inspection of the Magboro facility on July 2.
According to the bank’s affidavit, however, WEMPCO and its lawyers failed to attend the scheduled inspection and had since “gone incommunicado.”
UBA maintained that the factory had remained under the respondents’ control despite the court’s earlier order.
Court Order Covers Funds, Industrial Assets
Under the April 2 order, banks and financial technology platforms, including Moniepoint, OPay and Kuda, were directed to disclose and preserve funds belonging to the defendants, subject to the limits of the order.
The receiver-manager’s powers also extend to two Wärtsilä power generators associated with the dispute, wherever they may be found.
Other defendants in the underlying proceedings include Lagos Oriental Hotel Ltd., United Rolling Mills Ltd., WEMPCO Steel Mill Company and Prime Nigeria Tiles Company, alongside other companies linked to the industrial group.
WEMPCO was founded by K.F. Tung, who first arrived in Nigeria in 1967.
The latest contempt proceedings represent a further escalation in UBA’s efforts to recover the alleged outstanding debt and enforce the court’s orders over the group’s assets.
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