Dantata & Sawoe Construction Company Limited has fully paid the $1.4 million settlement agreement covering a $1,257,592.83 debt owed to Zutari Consulting Nigeria Ltd for subcontract work on the Dangote Fertilizer Plant project in Lekki, Lagos.
Following the confirmation of the payment, the Federal High Court, Abuja, has struck out a liquidation case against the company.
Presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Umar on Wednesday vacated and discharged the earlier orders appointing liquidators for Dantata & Sawoe after reviewing affidavits and hearing submissions from both parties’ legal teams.
The judge had earlier granted Zutari Consulting’s request for the appointment of a liquidator, noting that Dantata & Sawoe had been given ample time to settle the debt but repeatedly presented excuses, a development that came months after the court approved the publication of a winding-up petition in two national newspapers.
Zutari Consulting is involved in engineering design, consulting, and supervision of engineering works, while Dantata & Sawoe has been engaged in general construction services for over three decades.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Joshua E. announced appearance for Zutari Consulting, while I. Okim represented Dantata & Sawoe.
Both lawyers confirmed to the court that their clients had reached a settlement, and that Dantata & Sawoe had cleared the outstanding debt.
Okim urged the court to grant the company’s motion in view of the latest development.
In response, counsel for Zutari Consulting made an oral application to discontinue the liquidation case against Dantata & Sawoe.
After hearing from both sides, the judge held that the “motion is granted” and subsequently struck out the case.
Citing grounds for the application, Dantata & Sawoe lawyer, I. Otim, acknowledged that the court had appointed liquidators based on the company’s inability to pay its arbitral award debt.
He, however, disclosed that his client “has paid the arbitral award debt to the petitioner in this matter,” and argued that there was now a need to stay execution of the court’s orders or discharge the orders made on December 3, 2025.
Head of Litigation and Insurance for Dantata & Sawoe, John Dalamu, also stated in his affidavit that further execution of the liquidation order would cause irreparable harm to the company and that it was in the interest of justice for the court to grant a stay of execution.
