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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed preliminary objections filed by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and two others seeking to stop a ₦100million suit instituted by a furniture manufacturing firm, Artco Industries Limited over the registration of an allegedly identical company name.
Justice Binta Nyako held that the objections filed by CAC, Artco Furniture Manufacturing Company Limited and its owner, Chief (Dr) Onyekachi Iheme, lacked merit, ruling that the case disclosed triable issues deserving a full hearing.
Artco Industries sued the three defendants in suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/164/2024, filed on February 8, 2024, through its counsel, Emmanuel Ekpenyong.
The plaintiff alleged that the second defendant, incorporated on September 24, 2021, bears a name deceptively similar to its own, which has been in use since October 30, 2003, thereby misleading the public into believing both firms are affiliated.
Ekpenyong argued that the registration violated Section 852(1) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, which prohibits the registration of identical or confusingly similar company names.
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He urged the court to order CAC to deregister the second defendant and award ₦100million in damages for alleged loss of revenue.
CAC challenged the court’s jurisdiction, while the second and third defendants argued that the suit amounted to an abuse of court process because a related matter was pending before the FCT High Court.
Justice Nyako rejected the objections, holding that the plaintiff had established sufficient interest to seek redress over its corporate identity and goodwill. She ruled that the issues raised could only be determined at trial.
She also held that the FCT High Court case concerned a partnership dispute, whereas the present suit questioned the legality of the company’s incorporation under CAMA and CAC’s statutory powers.
The matter was adjourned to October 28 for trial.
