Zumax Nigeria Limited has filed a N4.1 billion lawsuit against the Central Bank of Nigeria in the Federal High Court in Lagos, accusing the CBN of gross negligence and complicity in a fraudulent receivership.
The company claims the CBN failed in its duty to supervise banks and protect customer interests, leading to significant financial losses.
During the hearing before Justice Akintoye Aluko, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), representing Zumax Nigeria Limited, informed the court that the plaintiff had an application dated February 20, 2025, and requested that the court hear the application.
Zumax, a prominent player in the oil services sector, regularly worked with major companies like Shell and Chevron, earning significant incomes in US dollars from these engagements.
Olanipekun also requested the court to consolidate and hear both Zumax’s application and the CBN’s preliminary objection together.
He emphasized that there was no issue with the order of hearing, as Zumax had not opposed the court considering the CBN’s preliminary objection first.
However, CBN’s counsel, Adeleke Agboola (SAN), insisted that the defendant’s preliminary objection, which challenges the court’s jurisdiction, should be heard first.
He argued that CBN had filed its notice of preliminary objection on time and that the plaintiff had already responded to it.
Agboola said, “This preliminary objection has priority over any other applications. The Plaintiff’s application is not meritorious.
“There is no suggestion by the claimant that we did not file within time. We are saying that this court does not have the jurisdiction to hear this matter, I urge your lordship to allow us to argue this matter.
“There is no doubt that preliminary objection takes precedence. It says it must be heard first and determined our objection is very serious. We have complied strictly by the rules.
“We urge this court to hear the preliminary objection and dismiss the Plaintiff’s application.”
Responding, Olanipekun said, “My learned friend said the application we filed is not meritorious. It is the court that can make any pronouncement on that.
“My lord, even when we talk of being tidy, we are not saying the court should not hear his preliminary objection. He is now the one saying that our application should not be heard.
“The court has to determine whether the objection has to be heard first or the Plaintiff’s application dated February 20, 2025, has to be heard first.
“It’s no longer the law; in fact, it has never been the law that when there is a preliminary objection the court will say let’s take it first. We urge your lordship to take our application which has not been contested by the defendant.”
After hearing the submissions from both parties, Justice Aluko adjourned the case until April 22, 2025, to deliver a ruling on which application should be heard first.
Court documents reveal that Zumax held an account (No. 0101020000026) with the now-defunct IMB International Bank PLC, which was subsequently merged into First City Monument Bank.
The plaintiff initially secured a N50 million overdraft facility from IMB, which was later increased to N200 million in 1998.
However, Zumax alleges that the bank fraudulently inflated its debt, and by December 6, 2002, the bank claimed the debt had risen to N465.6 million— a claim that Zumax strongly disputed.
