A manufacturing company, Artco Industries Limited, has filed a ₦100 million suit against the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and two others over alleged registration of an identical company resulting in its loss of revenue.
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In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/164/2024 filed through its lawyer, Emmanuel Ekpenyong of Fred-Young & Evans LP, before Justice Binta Nyako of a Federal High Court, Abuja, the company sued CAC as the 1st defendant, Artco Furniture Manufacturing Company Limited as the 2nd defendant, and Chief Dr. Onyekachi Iheme as the 3rd defendant.
The plaintiff sought a declaration that the 2nd defendant’s name, registered on Sept. 24, 2021, is similar to its name, registered since Oct. 30, 2003, misleading members of the public into believing that the two companies are owned by the same persons or that the 2nd defendant is a subsidiary of the plaintiff.
The plaintiff urged the court to declare that the acts of the defendants contravened the provisions of Section 852 (1) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020, which forbids the registration of a company whose name is identical with an existing name or a name which nearly resembles an existing name as to be calculated to deceive members of the public.
The company sought an order directing the CAC to deregister and strike out the name of the 2nd defendant from its database and an order directing the defendants to jointly and severally pay the sum of N100 million for damages resulting from loss of revenue due to CAC’s failure to carry out due diligence before registering the 2nd defendant.
The plaintiff alleged that on June 10, 2020, it entered into a partnership agreement with Dr Anthony Ezekwugo and Iheme for the marketing and sales of its furniture and products at the Artco Showroom located in Wuse 2, Abuja, for a period of two years and for a commission of 15 per cent of the sales. However, instead of marketing the plaintiff’s furniture, Iheme registered Artco Furniture Manufacturing Company Limited with similar objects as that of the plaintiff to divert its business and business opportunities.
The plaintiff claimed that Iheme impersonated himself as the CEO of the plaintiff and portrayed the plaintiff’s workshop and factory as that of the 2nd defendant in a viral online marketing video. Despite the expiration of the partnership agreement, the 2nd and 3rd defendants have continued to carry on business with the plaintiff’s furniture, trademark, and goodwill.
The plaintiff said it wrote letters dated July 19, 2023, and Sept 6, 2023, to CAC to deregister Artco Furniture Manufacturing Company Limited, but it failed to do so, leading to the lawsuit seeking redress in court.
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