Range Rover dispute: Court clears Coscharis to appeal business premises closure judgment

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday granted leave to Coscharis Motors Limited to appeal its judgment, which ordered the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to “close its premises” pending compliance with its order regarding a defective Range Rover purchased in 2024.

Justice Emeka Nwite cleared the company to appeal against a suit marked FHC/ABJ/2722/2025, filed by Florence Ozor against the FCCPC, holding that Coscharis has established sufficient “legal interest” to appeal.

Nairametrics recalls that in May 2026, Justice Nwite granted the reliefs sought by Ozor and ordered the FCCPC “to enforce its order of 18th September, 2025 by invoking the provisions of Section 150(4)(a) or (b), to wit; shut down or close the premises of the vendor (Coscharis) pending compliance or impose the appropriate administrative fine in compliance with its overall powers to enforce its compliance orders.”

However, Coscharis’ legal team filed a motion seeking leave to appeal the decision, accusing Ozor of unilaterally removing it as a party at the inception of the case without an order of the court, thereby breaching its constitutional right to a fair hearing.

What the court said

Ruling on the motion, Justice Nwite held that for a trial court to grant leave to appeal, an applicant must, among other things, establish that its legal rights have been substantially affected.

The judge also observed that neither the FCCPC nor Ozor’s legal team filed a counter-affidavit opposing Coscharis’ application.

• “The court is not sitting on appeal over its own judgment. Those questions lie before the Court of Appeal,” he said.

The judge held that, based on the facts before the court, Coscharis is the vendor of the Range Rover Sport in dispute.

He added that a careful reading of the subsisting judgment showed that the court made orders against the vendor and issued directives to the FCCPC, including directing it to close the company’s business premises pending compliance.

Nwite held that the trial court cannot, at this stage, determine whether the proposed appeal is meritorious but would confine itself to deciding whether leave to appeal should be granted.

• “The Court of Appeal is constitutionally vested with jurisdiction over judgments of the Federal High Court,” he added.

The judge expressed satisfaction that Coscharis had demonstrated sufficient legal interest to appeal the judgement.

He consequently ruled that the company’s application succeeded and granted leave to Coscharis to appeal the judgment as an interested party.

More insights

In its motion seen by Nairametrics, Coscharis argued that its non-joinder in the suit, Florence Ozor v. FCCPC, violated its constitutional right to a fair hearing in all causes or matters affecting it.

• Coscharis Motors Ltd. said it is central to the determination of all the issues in the case because the allegedly defective Range Rover was supplied by the company, while the orders directing the closure of the vendor’s premises (Coscharis Motors) and/or the imposition of an administrative fine are directed at it and have adversely affected its legal rights.
• For the FCCPC, the Commission disclosed that, in compliance with the court’s order and its own directives, Coscharis delivered a brand-new 2025 Range Rover Sport on June 5, 2026.

The Commission said Ozor was invited to take delivery of the 2025 vehicle and was directed to pay N58.3 million, representing one-third of the N175 million additional cost of the brand-new 2025 Range Rover Sport, valued at N435 million.

The Commission also maintained that it could not be held responsible for the company’s non-joinder in the case before judgment.

Backstory

At the last proceedings, Ozor’s lawyer, Barrister Oladipupo Ige, told the court that Form 48 (Notice of Consequences of Disobedience to Court Orders) and Form 49 (Notice to Show Cause) were served on the Commission on July 22.

• The FCCPC’s legal team confirmed that Form 48 was served on the Commission on July 15, 2026, but argued that Form 49 “was not served on anybody.”
• According to counsel, what was served on the FCCPC at about 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, and which he personally received in court, was a motion on notice for committal.
• Regarding the contempt proceedings, the FCCPC drew the court’s attention to its affidavit of compliance dated July 10, 2026.

Justice Nwite also adjourned Ozor’s case to July 28, 2026, for the FCCPC to show cause in the contempt proceedings.

What you should know

Coscharis Motors is a flagship subsidiary of the Coscharis Group, founded and led by Dr. Cosmas Maduka, a renowned Nigerian entrepreneur.

As of 2022, the company’s assembly plant had a theoretical capacity of approximately 90 vehicles per day, translating to around 5,000 vehicles per year on a single shift, and up to 13,000–26,000 units annually if operated at full capacity as a multi-brand CKD factory.

As of 2025, the assembly plant had a staff strength of about 86 employees, comprising 74 Nigerians and 12 expatriates.

Maduka is recognized for securing the exclusive Nigerian franchises for luxury brands such as BMW, Mini, Jaguar Land Rover, Ford, MG, and Rolls-Royce.