Ownership Of ALSCON: Court Jails BPE Boss Over Contempt Of Court

Unic Press UK: A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ruled that the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) Director-General, Alex Okoh, be held in prison custody for a minimum period of 30 days over contempt of Court rulings, the Premium Times reports.

In a ruling Tuesday, Judge Anwuri Chikere said that Okoh had serially disobeyed Court orders, including a ruling of the apex Court of the land, the Supreme Court of Nigeria, on the rightful owner of a multi-million dollar company – Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) situated at Ikot Abasi in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria.

Okoh as the head of the BPE allegedly refused to act on several Court orders like the Supreme Court decision 6 July 2012 which affirmed the BFI Group Corporation as the rightful owner of ALSCON on the basis of several facts before it, including the outcome of a bid 2004 in which the National Council on Privatization (NCP) declared the corporation, the BFI Group Corporation, as the winner of the bid.

Meanwhile the BPE has already filed a motion for stay of execution and appeal against the judgment of the Federal High Court.