OIL billionaire and founder of Oriental Energy Resources, Muhammadu Indimi, has applied to join the appeal against a Federal High Court judgment ordering the company to pay $43.51 million to his twin daughters over a dispute involving dividend entitlements.
News Point Nigeria reports that the application marks the latest twist in a legal battle that has attracted widespread attention because of its implications for shareholder rights, corporate governance and succession issues in privately owned family businesses across Africa.
The twin daughters at the centre of the suit are Zara and Ameena Indimi.
Indimi’s application follows an earlier appeal filed by Oriental Energy Resources after the Federal High Court, in February, ruled in favour of Ameena and Zara, who argued that they were denied dividends after their shareholdings in the company were significantly reduced.
The businessman is seeking to participate in the appeal in his personal capacity despite the company’s existing appeal challenging the judgment.
The dispute has grown beyond a family disagreement, emerging as a significant legal contest over ownership rights within one of Nigeria’s leading indigenous oil companies and attracting broader interest over governance practices in privately owned firms.
Court documents show that the disagreement centres on the ownership stakes of Ameena and Zara Indimi in Oriental Energy Resources.
According to the sisters, each originally owned about five per cent of the company before their interests were reduced to approximately 0.63 per cent, a development that significantly lowered the dividends they received after Oriental Energy declared a $435.1 million dividend in 2016.
In February, the Federal High Court agreed with the sisters, ruling that they remained entitled to dividends based on their original shareholdings and ordering Oriental Energy Resources to pay them $43.51 million.
The dispute stems from what the sisters describe as changes in the company’s shareholding structure.
They contend that each previously owned about five per cent of Oriental Energy Resources but later saw their stakes reduced to roughly 0.63 per cent each. According to them, that reduction substantially affected the amount they received after the company declared the $435.1 million dividend in 2016.
The sisters subsequently approached the court, arguing that they remained entitled to dividends calculated on the basis of their original ownership interests rather than the reduced shareholding.
The Federal High Court upheld their position and ordered Oriental Energy Resources to pay them $43.51 million.
However, Oriental Energy Resources has challenged the judgment at the Court of Appeal, maintaining that the reduction in the sisters’ shareholdings was lawful, that the transfers were voluntary, and that previous financial settlements had already resolved the matter.
Indimi has now taken a further legal step by asking to join the appeal in his personal capacity rather than merely relying on the company’s appeal.
Before considering the substantive issues in the case, the Court of Appeal is expected to determine whether the oil magnate should be joined as a party to the proceedings.
The case has attracted attention beyond the immediate parties because it raises broader questions about shareholder rights, dividend entitlements and ownership changes within privately owned family businesses across Africa.
Given that many of the continent’s major companies remain family-controlled and privately held, legal disputes involving internal shareholder arrangements rarely reach the courts. As a result, the outcome of the appeal is expected to provide important guidance on minority shareholder rights, dividend entitlements and ownership restructuring within closely held companies.
The dispute has also reinforced the importance of maintaining transparent ownership records, particularly in privately owned businesses where ownership and management often reside within the same family.
Muhammadu Indimi established Oriental Energy Resources in the early 1990s and is widely recognised as one of Nigeria’s pioneer indigenous oil entrepreneurs.
Over the decades, the company has grown into one of Nigeria’s largest privately owned upstream oil producers, with interests in offshore oil assets, including the Ebok, Okwok and OML 115 fields.
Oriental Energy has played a significant role in expanding indigenous participation in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum industry following reforms aimed at increasing local ownership of oil assets.
For now, however, the legal battle remains unresolved as the Court of Appeal prepares to determine whether Indimi can formally join the appeal before proceeding to hear the substantive case challenging the Federal High Court’s judgment.