Zenith Bank has announced its intention to comply with the court’s verdict regarding unpaid dividends allegations made by Aquitane Oil and Gas Limited.
- Chinedu Zeph, deputy general manager at Zenith Bank, confirmed this in a statement to TheCable on Tuesday.
- BACKGROUND: On November 7, Aquitane Oil and Gas Limited filed a petition with Kayode Egbetokun, the inspector-general of police (IGP), alleging the “falsification” of its account statement by Zenith Bank.
- The petition, dated October 11, 2024, was submitted through its legal counsel, Lukman O. Fagbemi & Co., and requested an investigation into Zenith Bank for allegedly concealing illegalities related to the company’s shares.
- Aquitane Oil claimed to have purchased 10,775,399 shares and 17,425,300 shares in Zenith Bank through its subsidiaries in 2008 during the bank’s initial public offering (IPO).
- The oil company stated that it discovered in 2020 that dividends for these shares had not been paid since 2008.
- Aquitane Oil accused Zenith Bank of withholding over N1.4 billion in dividends accrued from the shares owned by its affiliate firms.
- The oil firm also noted that the bank has yet to address allegations of forgery concerning the statement of account.
