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BEDC Electricity Plc has approached the Court of Appeal, Akure Division, seeking an urgent order to stop the planned auction of three of its operational Toyota Hilux vehicles attached in the execution of a N20 million judgment, warning that the sale would render its pending appeal nugatory.
In an affidavit sworn to by the company’s Senior Legal Officer, Victor Mukoro, BEDC also filed an affidavit of urgency, urging the appellate court to abridge time and hear its application before the scheduled auction date, noting that the Court of Appeal is currently on vacation.
Court documents show that the company filed a motion for an interlocutory injunction seeking to restrain the judgment creditor, retired Justice Williams Akinlolu Akintoroye, the Sheriff of the Ondo State High Court and their agents from auctioning the vehicles pending the determination of its appeal.
BEDC is also asking the appellate court to restrain the respondent, the sheriff and any other person acting on their behalf from disposing of any of the company’s property until the appeal is finally determined.
The application followed the 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 N20 million in general damages to the retired judge over a dispute arising from estimated electricity billing.
Dissatisfied with the decision, BEDC, formerly known as 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 what it described as an excessive award of damages.
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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.
BEDC 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.
According to Mukoro, following the dismissal of the company’s application for a stay of execution on June 9, the trial court issued a writ of attachment, leading to the seizure of three Toyota Hilux vehicles valued at about N200 million and used for the company’s operational activities.
He stated that the company was subsequently served with a notice indicating that the vehicles would be auctioned on Monday, July 20, 2026, at the premises of the Ondo State High Court in Akure, without a reserve price.
The company argued that the attached vehicles are worth significantly more than the N20 million judgment debt and warned that disposing of them before the Court of Appeal determines its pending application would occasion irreparable damage and seriously disrupt its electricity distribution operations.
Mukoro further stressed that the vehicles are an integral 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 ultimately frustrate the appeal if the company succeeds.
