Mr I.I. Okim, lawyer to Dantata & Sawoe Construction Company Limited, has said that the company has finally paid in full the $1.4 million owed to Zutari Consulting Nigeria Ltd for subcontract work on the Dangote Fertilizer Plant project in Lekki, Lagos.
Okim made this known in a motion on notice filed before Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Dantata & Sawoe’s behalf.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Umar had, on Wednesday, appointed a liquidator for Dantata & Sawoe over its failure to pay the $1.4 million project debt.
The judge, who granted Zutari Consulting’s request for the appointment of a liquidator, held that Dantata & Sawoe had been given ample time by the court to settle the debt but the company repeatedly presented excuses.
But Dantata & Sawoe, in the motion filed on Dec. 4 by Okim and its certified true copy made available to newsmen on Saturday, said that the debt had now been completely paid in the bid to escape liquidation.
The development also came months after the court approved the publication of a winding-up petition in two national dailies.
While Zutari Consulting (the petitioner) is involved in engineering design, consulting, and supervision of engineering works, Dantata & Sawoe (the respondent) engages in general construction services for over three decades.
Citing grounds for the filing of the motion, Otim admitted that the court had appointed liquidators on the basis that his client had been unable to pay its arbitral award debt.
The lawyer stated that the company “has paid the debt arbitral award to the petitioner in this matter,” and argued that there is now a need to stay execution of the court’s orders or discharge the orders made on Dec. 3.
He further stated that his client had filed an appeal and that continued execution of the trial court’s orders might foist a fait accompli (irreversible accomplished fact) on the pending appeal.
The applicant also undertook to provide security for costs.
Okim, therefore, sought “an order staying execution of the court’s order made on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, pending the hearing and determination of the appeal filed against the orders in this petition.
“An order vacating or discharging the orders appointing liquidators for the applicant made on December 3, 2025.”
The Head of Litigation and Insurance for Dantata & Sawoe, John Dalam, in the affidavit attached to the motion, averred that several credit transfers were made to Zutari Consulting to support the company’s claim of full payment.
“The debit alerts showing the payments of the arbitral award sum are attached here as Exhibit D2 series,” he added.
Dalam stressed that further execution of the liquidation order would cause irreparable harm to the company and that it would be in the interest of justice for the court to grant a stay of execution.
The $1.4 million project debt is in accordance with the terms of a settlement agreement, regarding an alleged $1,257,592.83 debt owed to Zutari Consulting Nigeria Ltd, following the subcontract work in Lekki, Lagos.
The court had, in September 2024, granted the parties a 30-day extension for settlement and adjourned the matter several times to hear Zutari Consulting’s motion seeking the appointment of a provisional liquidator for Dantata & Sawoe over the alleged debt.
Zutari Consulting’s lawyer, Chris Ekemezie, had told the court that arbitration over the matter was conducted in London, United Kingdom, and that a final arbitral award issued on April 7, 2021, held Dantata & Sawoe liable for the debt.
Ekemezie stated that the petitioner was engaged by the respondent in 2015 to execute some design components of the respondent’s subcontract works at the Dangote Fertilizer Plant project in Lekki.
He contended that after the petitioner completed the job, Dantata & Sawoe became indebted to it in the sum of “$1,257,592.83, ZAR 2,136,623.39, and £4,364.38.”
He argued that the respondent’s failure to pay the outstanding amount led to a dispute which was referred to the International Chamber of Commerce for arbitration after both parties were unable to resolve it themselves, and the tribunal ruled in the petitioner’s favour.
However, in a notice of preliminary objection filed on May 9, 2023, Dantata & Sawoe’s legal team urged the court to strike out the petition for lack of jurisdiction.
It informed the court that an appeal had been filed amid ongoing settlement negotiations.
At Wednesday’s proceedings, the judge observed that the case had been adjourned three times to allow the respondent to settle the debt, yet the company continued returning with excuses.
Justice Umar, who noted Dantata & Sawoe’s unwillingness to pay the debt, subsequently granted the petitioner’s request to appoint Joseph Abiolu, FCA, as liquidator to wind up the company.
He said this was in line with Sections 571(d), 572, and 573(1)(b) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, which outline circumstances and procedures for court-ordered winding up.
The judge then adjourned the matter until to Feb.18, 2026, for the liquidator’s report.
