An institutional investor and developer, Novare, has reiterated its plans for continued business in Nigeria after the ex-parte court order prohibiting Novare from selling its assets and leaving Nigeria was brought to the company’s attention.
According to The Times, the ex-parte Order is based on false statements that one Grand Towers Realty Limited provided to the Court.
Grand Towers Realty Limited & 2 Ors v. Novare Investments (Pty) Limited) & 4 Ors., filed since 2017 with Novare, is a long-running issue that Grand Towers (represented by Nze Chidi Duru) has been involved in.
Grand Towers and Nze Chidi Duru filed an earlier lawsuit in 2013 under the case number FHC/ABJ/CS/121/2013. In that lawsuit, their entitlement claims were resolved, and they received a full and final payment of USD 6,000,000 (six million US dollars) in addition to USD 300,000 (three hundred thousand dollars) to cover the costs of their then-counsel, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu SAN.
The Federal High Court’s Order and Judgement, as per Hon. Justice A. R. Mohammed, eventually resolved the case.
Grand Towers and Nze Chidi Duru reappeared in 2017 with new claims, which led to the subsequent lawsuit, No. FHC/HC/CV/0224/2017. Novare’s preliminary objection, according to which the suit’s subject matter cannot be re-litigated because it was settled in full by the Federal High Court’s 2013 Consent Judgement, was the basis for the lawsuit’s recent appeal to the Court of Appeal.
In its judgement dated January 31, 2023, the Court of Appeal set aside the High Court’s decision to disregard Novare’s claim of res judicata in opposition to the Court’s jurisdiction to hear Suit No. FHC/HC/CV/0224/2017 and returned the case to the High Court for reassignment to a different judge for consideration of Novare’s preliminary objection on its merits.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria’s current rules fully protect Novare’s rights, even though the company is neither selling its assets nor leaving the Nigerian market.
Counsel has been directed by Novare to reply to this most recent sensationalized publication.
“We want to use this platform to reaffirm our commitment to the Nigerian market and our new funding sources. To demonstrate its faith, Novare keeps investing pension money from South African employees in commercial real estate, infrastructure, and shopping center developments in Mozambique, Zambia, and Nigeria.
“Novare is steadfast in its commitment to operating in Nigeria and will keep growing its presence there by filling in the gaps in the Nigerian real estate market and generating cutting-edge investment opportunities for both domestic and international clients,” the company said.
