What began as a private disagreement within one of Nigeria’s wealthiest families has become one of the country’s most riveting corporate inheritance battles, with fresh twists continuing to ripple through both the legal and business communities.
The long-running dispute within the influential Indimi family took another dramatic turn after the Federal High Court ruled in favour of twin sisters, Ameena and Zara Indimi, in their battle over dividends from Oriental Energy Resources, the oil company founded by billionaire businessman Muhammadu Indimi.
Justice Nkeonye Maha ordered Oriental Energy to pay the sisters $43.51 million, holding that they were entitled to dividends they claimed were withheld after what they described as an unlawful dilution of their shareholding in the privately owned oil company. The twins maintained that they originally held a combined 10 per cent stake in Oriental Energy but that their interests were reduced without their consent, thereby denying them their share of dividends from a reported $435.1 million distribution.
The victory, however, may only mark the end of one chapter. Oriental Energy has already appealed the judgment, insisting that the share transfers were voluntary and that relevant payments had previously been made under family arrangements. The appeal ensures that the legal contest is far from over, reinforcing the complexity of a dispute where family ties intersect with corporate governance and enormous financial interests.
