The 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 attached in execution of a ₦20 million judgment, insisting that the sale would render its pending appeal nugatory.
The company senior legal officer, Victor Mukoro, on an affidavit stated that the company had also filed an affidavit of urgency, urging the Court of Appeal to abridge time and hear the application before the scheduled auction date because the appellate court is currently on vacation.
According to documents before the court, the BEDC filed a motion for an interlocutory injunction restraining the judgment creditor, retired Justice Williams Akinlolu Akintoroye, and the Sheriff of the Ondo State High Court from auctioning the vehicles pending the determination of its appeal against the judgment.
The motion, filed before the Court of Appeal, also seeks an order restraining the respondent, the sheriff and any person acting on their behalf from disposing of any property belonging to the company until the appeal is determined.
The application followed a judgment delivered on May 4, 2026, by Justice Williams R. Olamide of the Ondo State High Court in Suit No. AK/323/2024, which awarded ₦20 million in general damages to the retired judge over a dispute arising from estimated electricity billing.
The court documents indicated that BEDC, formerly Benin Electricity Distribution Company Plc, filed a notice of appeal on May 6, challenging the judgment on several grounds, including jurisdiction, limitation of action and the award of damages, which it described as excessive.
The company argued that the cause of action arose several years before the suit was instituted in 2024 and therefore fell outside the applicable limitation period.
It also maintained that estimated electricity billing is regulated by statutory provisions and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), contrary to the findings of the trial court.
The company lawyer stated that after the trial court dismissed the company’s application for stay of execution on June 9, a writ of attachment was issued, leading to 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 Ondo State High Court premises in Akure on Monday, July 20, 2026, without a reserve price.
The lawyer argued that the attached vehicles are reportedly worth far more than the ₦20 million judgment debt and warned that disposing of them before the Court of Appeal considers the pending application would occasion irreparable damage to the company and disrupt its electricity distribution operations.
He emphasised that the vehicles form part of BEDC’s operational fleet deployed for service delivery across its franchise areas covering Edo, Ondo, Ekiti and Delta States, adding that “their sale to third-party purchasers could frustrate the appeal if it eventually succeeds.”
