Nigerian oil magnate Muhammadu Indimi’s family feud deepens as his eldest son files affidavit against sisters Ameena and Zara; two judges set for showdown.
Mustafa Indimi, the son of Nigerian oil magnate Muhammadu Indimi, has deposed an affidavit in defence of his father and the company, Oriental Energy.
Oriental Energy is being sued by sisters – Ameena and Zara – for withholding $420m in dividends out of which a combined 10% or $42m belongs to them. The lawsuit is separate from another case in which the daughters accuse the firm of withholding $435m in dividends from them.
Brother v sisters
Mustafa, who currently serves as managing director of Oriental Energy, has sided with the position of the oil company, denying the allegations of his two sisters. He will be expected to be cross-examined at the next court hearing.
The company had denied it declared dividends of $420m and also dismissed submissions by Ameena and Zara that they were coerced into relinquishing their shares to their father. Oriental Energy also claimed that Indimi paid off his children with $10min exchange for over 98% of their shares in the firm.
Mustafa also attested to the authenticity of the emails his father sent to the company authorising payments.
Judicial politics
While the battle continues inside the courtroom, there are also some judicial politics taking place outside, The Africa Report can confirm.
The case instituted by the Indimi sisters against their father’s company in 2022 was first assigned to Justice Evelyn Maha, a judge at the federal high court, Abuja. In the case, the sisters accused the firm of declaring dividends of $420m out of which 10% or $42m belongs to them.
However, in 2024 while Justice Maha was still presiding over the case, the judge was transferred to another state before the defence could rest its case.
This meant that she ought to have transferred the case file back to the chief judge for it to be reassigned to another judge. However, she obtained permission from the chief judge to continue this particular case. This means she flies to Abuja regularly to hear the case, hence slowing down the pace of the proceedings.
Dissatisfied, the Indimi sisters last year decided to institute a similar case before another federal judge in Abuja, Justice Emeka Nwite.
In this new case, however, the sisters claim the dividends declared was $435m within the same period and they are entitled to $43.5m. This means the two cases are now being heard simultaneously in two courts of the same jurisdiction.
“It is one of the absurdities of the Nigerian justice system,” says a court official who asked to remain anonymous because he was not authorised to speak to the press.
Our sources say one of the judges would eventually be made to drop the case. “Justice Nwite is senior to Justice Maha. He is likely to continue the case. But Justice Maha started the case, and she wants to finish it because it is a high-profile case and even Indimi has been attending her own court. The chief judge will likely have the final say.”
Family squabble
The Indimi family, led by 77-year-old Indimi, is one of Nigeria’s wealthiest and most notable northern families.
Indimi has 20 children, most of whom are married to children of former presidents, governors and lawmakers. Eight of them are shareholders in Oriental Energy.
The oil magnate who hails from Borno State sits on the board of several companies, including Julius Berger and Jaiz Bank where he is the majority shareholder.
Indimi, who is from humble beginnings, made his fortunes in the early 90s after he was assigned an oil bloc by the General Ibrahim Babangida regime.
The company, Oriental Energy, was founded in 1990 and currently has three projects in the offshore Nigerian Oil and Gas industry, which include OML 115, Ebok Field (OML 67) and the Okwok Field (OML 67).
Last December, the company inaugurated a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel for Okwok Field. The vessel is expected to boost Nigeria’s crude oil production capacity by 30,000 barrels per day.
(The Africa Report)
