The Abuja Federal High Court has urged Dantata & Sawoe Construction Company to make concrete and tangible steps towards the payment of a long outstanding $1.4 million settlement for a contract for the Dangote Fertilizer Plant in Lekki, Lagos.Â
The order was issued by Justice Mohammed Umar after hearing the latest court hearing between Zutari Consulting Nigeria Limited and the construction company.
A Nigerian branch of a multinational engineering design and supervision company, Zutari Consulting, sued Dantata & Sawoe to recover a debt of $1,257,592.83. The debt reportedly occurred as a result of subcontracted work performed by Zutari under the work of the Dangote Fertilizer project, a vast infrastructural investment within Nigeria’s industrial belt.
The dispute arises due to an arbitral award issued in London on April 7, 2021. The arbitration tribunal held Dantata & Sawoe liable for the aforementioned amount and left Zutari to seek enforcement in Nigerian courts. The case has remained in various adjournments since 2023, with the parties displaying interest in out-of-court settlement. However, no material settlement has been achieved.
In a motion last year, Zutari requested the court to appoint a provisional liquidator to manage Dantata & Sawoe’s assets as a method of securing the debt. Permission for the publication of a winding-up petition had already been given by the court, an indication of how serious the situation was. But lawyers for Dantata & Sawoe countered the move with a preliminary objection stating that the court could not exercise jurisdiction due to an existing appeal and ongoing settlement negotiations.
At the Monday sitting, Dantata & Sawoe’s counsel, Chris Ekemezie, told the court that Dantata & Sawoe had been making successive offers to sell some of its assets to generate the funds over the years but the matter had not been advanced. This was followed by an objection from Dantata’s counsel, I. I. Okim, who objected to what he referred to as disclosure of confidentiality and that the matter was private and ought not to have been divulged in open court.
Justice Umar, on his part, appealed to both parties to concentrate on resolving the issue amicably and not protract it. He stressed that the question of time should be expedited since the worth of the outstanding money depreciates with time. He cautioned the lawyer representing Dantata & Sawoe that if in fact the company had agreed to settle, then the court would re-adjust the time required to finalize the case.
The case was adjourned by the court to the 22nd of September, 2025, for report on hearing or settlement.
It is noteworthy that notwithstanding that an appeal is pending, the Federal High Court may hear contractual disputes and order the enforcement of settlements. The decision in this case will establish precedence on the enforcement of arbitration awards in Nigeria, especially in high-value infrastructure and engineering cases.
Legal commentators closely observe whether Dantata & Sawoe will move swiftly to conclude the long legal drama or invite additional reputation and financial loss.
