The Federal High Court (FHC) in Abuja has reportedly appointed a liquidator for Dantata & Sawoe Construction Company Limited over its repeated failure to pay $1.4 million, following a settlement agreement.
Justice Mohammed Umar granted the petitioner, Zutari Consulting, the request for the appointment of a liquidator in an order on Wednesday, December 3.
The judge noted that the court had given Dantata & Sawoe enough time to settle the debt, but the company had repeatedly failed to do so.
At the resumption of proceedings on Wednesday, the petitioner informed the court that the respondent had failed to fully settle its debt.
After hearing both parties, the judge held that the case had been adjourned three times to allow the respondent to settle the debt, but had shown unwillingness to pay the debt.
The court then granted the petitioner’s request to appoint Joseph Abiolu as liquidator to wind up the company 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.
Pinnacle Daily report that the settlement agreement arose from an alleged $1,257,592.83 debt owed to Zutari Consulting Nigeria Ltd, following subcontract work on the Dangote Fertiliser Plant project in Lekki, Lagos.
The matter has been dragging on since 2021 and has seen several adjournments and attempts at out-of-court resolution.
The appointment of a liquidator comes months after the court approved the publication of a winding-up petition advertisement against Dantata & Sawoe in two national daily newspapers.
The court had, in September 2024, granted the parties a 30-day extension for settlement.
It had also adjourned the matter several times to hear Zutari Consulting’s motion, which had sought the appointment of a provisional liquidator for Dantata & Sawoe over the alleged debt.
A the end of Wednesday’s proceedings, the matter was then adjourned to February 18, 2026, for the liquidator’s report.
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X
