<<Print>>

A witness in the legal feud over the ownership of $391,250, yesterday admitted that he did not have a written agreement with an oil company for the lifting of oil from Nigeria to Ghana. Prince Alexander Adeleke Oyinlola, however, informed the Financial Division of the High Court that he had an �implied contract� with the oil company, Auxesia Energy Limited and for that reason he was entitled to the $391,250 claim. He also indicated that there was an additional debt of $1,050 to be borne by Auxesia Energy Limited. �We have no written agreement with Auxesia. The contract is implied,� Prince Oyinlola, whose vessel was used to cart 16,676 metric tonnes of LPFO, said while answering questions under cross-examination from counsel for the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), Mr Edward Cudjoe. Explaining what he meant by �implied�, the witness said there was a lien which required vessels to hold products till payment had been made. Lien is the legal claim of one person upon the property of another to secure the payment of a debt. Counsel at that point suggested to the witness that he could not exercise that lien because he (witness) did not have any contract with Auxesia Energy Limited to warrant any payment to his company, but the witness disagreed. �I totally disagree. We hold lien over the product and whoever pays gets the product. It has nothing to do with charter,� Prince Oyinlola emphasised. Prince Oyinlola�s vessel, MT Soleushing, was chartered by Spiral Oil and Gas and Grandfather Oil and Gas through his managers, First Overcomers Limited, to transport the LPFO to Ghana. Elder Chris Isibor, who was believed to be the owner of Grandfather Oil and Gas, sold the LPFO to Auxesia Energy Limited. Genesis Prince Oyinlola�s company, Soleushing Nigeria, is battling Auxesia Energy Limited and Soleushing UK over the ownership of $391,250, which is currently in the coffers of the Judicial Service. The money was withdrawn from Auxesia Energy Limited�s account, but the company is arguing that it had no dealing with Soleushing Nigeria and UK to warrant it to pay the amount to either of them. The court, presided over by Mr Justice John Ajet-Nasam, is currently gathering evidence to determine the actual owner of the amount. Evidence Asked about who paid his company after the LPFO had been discharged, the witness said Auxesia Energy issued a cheque for the cash payment of $391,250. He said Auxesia Energy Limited never withdrew the amount and said rather, Elder Isibor got a copy of the cheque and managed to stop its payment at a Cape Coast High Court where he was accused of stealing the vessel, MT Soleushing. Prince Oyinlola also denied an assertion from Mr Cudjoe that his vessel was used to cart an illegal product and further argued that counsel had no legal basis to say that, because the Nigerian authorities had not said so. Auxesia cross-examination Answering questions under cross-examination from Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, counsel for Auxesia Energy Limited, Prince Oyinlola told the court that Auxesia Energy Limited was not a party to a case brought against him in Cape Coast. Counsel suggested that the witness�s claim that the $391,250 cheque was related to charges levelled against him in Cape Coast in 2013 was mere fiction because his client had no hand in that case. In response to that suggestion, the witness said the cheque was a major issue. Asked if he was present in Cape Coast during the tussle over ownership of the vessel, witness answered in the negative. Counsel at that point suggested to him that all evidence he (witness) had so far led in relation to incidents in Cape Coast was based on hearsay. Charter Agreement Mr Dame later produced a charter agreement between Soleushing Nigeria and Spiral Oil and Gas and sought to tender it in evidence, but Prince Oyinlola said that was not the agreement. But the court, presided over by Mr Justice Ajet-Nasam, allowed it in as an exhibit and implored the witness to produce a counter-document. The twist Soleushing UK is currently accusing Soleushing Nigeria of stealing its vessel, but lawyer for Soleushing UK, Mr Dubik Yakubu Mahama, in the course of the trial joined forces with the lawyer for Soleushing Nigeria to claim the money from Auxesia Energy Limited. Auxesia Energy Limited, through its Managing Director, Mrs Faith Odulu, has maintained that it had no contract with Soleushing Nigeria and Soleushing UK. According to the company, the $391,250 was meant to be the final payment for the LPFO it bought from Earth Petroleum, but told the court that it had so far advanced some moneys to Elder Isibor, thereby leaving a balance of $100,000.