UBA commences contempt proceedings against WEMPCO directors over alleged disobedience of court order
The application forms part of proceedings seeking to determine whether the named individuals disobeyed an order of the court and whether they should be committed to prison for contempt The post UBA commences contempt…
UBA is one of Nigeria's largest commercial banks, with extensive lending exposure across sectors including manufacturing conglomerates like WEMPCO, which operates in steel, sugar, and other industrial lines. Contempt-of-court proceedings in Nigeria's civil litigation system typically arise when a party believes a court order — often relating to payment, asset preservation, or compliance with a judgment — has been willfully disregarded, and Form 49 is the standard notice used to compel an alleged contemnor to appear and show cause why they should not be committed to prison.
Both Premium Times and ThisDay report that the Federal High Court has granted UBA's application, with ThisDay specifying the presiding judge, Justice Aluko, and noting the court approved substituted service of Form 49 on the WEMPCO directors — a procedural step often used when parties are difficult to reach directly. Neither report yet details the underlying order the directors allegedly disobeyed, the amount or transaction in dispute, or WEMPCO's response to the allegations, leaving the substantive merits of UBA's claim still to be determined by the court.