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BEDC Electricity Plc has approached the Court of Appeal, Akure Division, seeking an urgent order to halt the planned auction of three of its operational Toyota Hilux vehicles seized in execution of a ₦20 million judgment, insisting that the sale would nullify its pending appeal.
The company’s senior legal officer, Victor Mukoro, in an affidavit said the company had also filed an emergency affidavit, urging the Court of Appeal to shorten the timeframe and hear the application before the scheduled auction date because the court of appeal is currently on vacation.
According to documents submitted to the court, the BEDC has moved for an interlocutory injunction restraining the judgment creditor, retired Justice Williams Akinlolu Akintoroye, and the Sheriff of Ondo State High Court from auctioning the vehicles pending the disposition of his appeal against the judgment.
The application, filed before the Court of Appeal, also seeks to prohibit the defendant, the sheriff and any person acting on their behalf from disposing of any assets belonging to the company until the appeal is decided.
The application followed a judgment delivered on May 4, 2026 by Justice Williams R. Olamide of the Ondo State High Court in case no. AK/323/2024, which awarded ₦20 million in general damages to the retired judge for a dispute arising over estimated electricity billing.
Court documents indicate that BEDC, formerly Benin Electricity Distribution Company Plc, filed an appeal on May 6, challenging the ruling on several grounds, including jurisdiction, limitation of action and damages, which it described as excessive.
The company argued that the cause of action arose several years before the suit was filed in 2024 and therefore fell outside the applicable statute of limitations.
He further argued that estimated electricity billing is governed by statutory provisions and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), contrary to the findings of the court of first instance.
The company’s lawyer said that after the lower court rejected the company’s request for a stay of execution on June 9, a writ of seizure was issued, resulting in the seizure of three Toyota Hilux vehicles worth $200 million used for operational activities.
He said the company was subsequently served with a notice indicating that the vehicles would be auctioned at the premises of the Ondo State High Court in Akure on Monday, July 20, 2026, with no reserve price.
The lawyer argued that the seized vehicles are worth much more than the ₦20 million debt and warned that divesting them before the Court of Appeal believes that the pending application would cause irreparable harm to the company and disrupt its electricity distribution operations.
He pointed out that the vehicles are part of BEDC’s operational fleet deployed for the provision of services in its franchise areas covering Edo, Ondo, Ekiti and Delta states, adding that “their sale to third party buyers could defeat the appeal if ultimately successful.”
