The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Justice Ibrahim Buba

  • Bank to forfeit N150m as Russians jump bail

    Bank to forfeit N150m as Russians jump bail

    The Federal High Court in Lagos Thursday ordered Zenith Bank Plc to forfeit N150million to the Federal Government after three Russians, who it provided a guarantee for, jumped bail.

    The three are among 14 foreigners accused of dealing in crude oil without licence.

    Justice Ibrahim Buba had issued a bench warrant for their arrest and revoked the bail granted the other accused persons.

    The judge had also ordered the bank, which provided the bond for the bail granted the accused persons for N50million each, to show cause why it should not forfeit the money.

    Thursday, the court heard that the Russians could not be found and the bank could not account for their whereabouts.

    Consequently, the judge ordered that he bail guarantee be forfeited.

    Among the accused are Russians, Ukrainians, Japanese and English, namely Artur Pakhladzhian, Sergo Abbgarian, Vasily Shkundich, vitaliy Bilours, Hlarion Regipor, Laguta Oleksiy, Cadavis Gerarado, Kretov Andry, Badurian Benjamin, Chepikov Olksan, Naranjo Antero, Patro Christian, Alcayde Joel and Caratiquit Beyan.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) charged them after they were arrested by the Navy, which last March 27 intercepted their vessel, MT Anukpet Emerald.

    The vessel was laden with crude oil estimated at 1,738.087 metric tons.

    Defence counsel Babajide Koku (SAN) said the fourth, sixth and 11th defendants could not be found as they escaped from the hotel they were staying.

    He said he contacted the Russian Embassy, but was told it did not know the accused person’s whereabouts.

    “As we speak, I do not know the whereabouts of the three. And it’s highly embarrassing to say this, my Lord,” Koku said.

    The EFCC prosecutor, Rotimi Oyedepo, prayed the court to order their arrest and to revoke the bail granted the others.

    Koku said: “The application for their arrest is definitely meritorious to secure their attendance.”

    He, however, pleaded the sins of the three Russians should not be visited on the others by revoking their bail.

    Ruling, Justice Buba held that since the three who jumped bail were the leaders of the crew, not revoking the others’ bail would be risky.

    He, therefore, cancelled the bail granted the others and ordered that all the accused persons be remanded in prison custody.

    Justice Buba said Zenith Bank should show explain why it should not lose the N150million bail granted the three accused persons who have fled.

    The prosecution said they violated Section 4 of the Petroleum Act, Cap10 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

    EFCC said the offence also contravenes Section 19(6) of the Miscellaneous Offence Act of 2004 and punishable under section 1(17) of the same Act.

    The defendants had pleaded not guilty to the four counts when they were arraigned and were granted N50million bail each.

    The foreigners were also charged with dealing in 1,500 metric tons of Automated Gas Oil as well as 3,035 metric tons of Low Pour Fuel Oil without lawful authority.

    Justice Buba adjourned till March 15 for judgment.

  • FG charges bank, others with N327million fraud

    FG charges bank, others with N327million fraud

    The Federal Government has filed a criminal charge against the Nigeria International Bank Limited and 16 others at the Federal High Court in Lagos.

    The charge, filed by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, Mohammed Saidu Dirim on behalf of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami (SAN) is pending before Justice Ibrahim Buba.

    The accused persons will be tried on 20 counts of conspiracy to defraud, intent to defraud by means of false pretenses, conspiracy to commit fraud, falsification of document, presenting untrue documents, counterfeiting and production of forged documents.

    Others are obtaining money by false pretense, fraudulent evasion of duty, conspiracy to steal, corruptly enriching themselves, contributing to Nigeria’s economic adversity, obtaining goods by false pretence, conspiracy to commit felony and untrue declaration.

    The other defendants are Chief C. S Sankey, Emeka Emuwa, Peter Harris, Adekunle Oladosun, Okechi Egwu, Lulu Ndubuka, Kabiru Bello, J.E Eriagbon, Mrs Olusola Fagbure, Samson Ebie, Steve Obodomechine, Mikky Dons Nig. Ltd, Mark Anaele, Chief Ariyo Odunala, Peter Oriade and Obianwa Chuba.

    They were accused of conspiring to commit an offence by inducing Micmerah International Agency Limited, by means of false pretences and with intent to defraud, to deliver N250million to them.

    The money, said the prosecution, was intended to be used for offsetting a fraudulent import finance facility scheme.

    Dirim said the alleged offence occurred on January 31, 2001 at 1, Idowu Taylor Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    The defendants also allegedly conspired with Eriagbon of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on or about January 31, 2001 to induce Micmerah International to deliver N55million to Mikky Dons Nigeria.

    The money was said to be meant for payment of Customs Duty on four Volvo luxury buses and two 40 feet containers imported by Micmerah International.

    The defendants were also accused of knowingly falsifying an affidavit purportedly sworn to by one Tiwa Ibikunle on April 11, 2003 before a Lagos High Court.

    According to the charge, the affidavit was for the purpose of fraudulently effecting the release of the buses and containers from Customs.

    They were also accused of presenting the forged document which they “knowingly” presented to enable them obtain police extracts.

    According to the prosecution, the accused forged Customs Revenue Receipts for N55million with intent that they may be acted upon as genuine in order to defraud Micmerah International and the Federal Government.

    The defendants “contributed to Nigeria’s economic adversity” by diverting money meant for payment of Customs duty to themselves, the prosecution said.

    The alleged offences contravene sections 1(1)(a) (b) and 8 (a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Related Offences Act 2004; sections 161 (1) (a) and 162 (a) of the Customs and Excise Management Act; Section 1 (2)(c) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act of 2004 and Section 516 of the Criminal Code Act of 2004.

    The case was fixed for arraignment yesterday but was stalled due to the absence of 16 of the defendants. When the case was called, only the first accused was represented in court.

    Mr. Gordy Uche (SAN) announced appearance for the prosecution; Mr Niyi Adegbomire (SAN) represented the accused.

    Uche said he was unable to serve the accused with the charge and prayed for a short adjournment to enable the prosecution serve the accused.

    The case, said to have been dropped in 2011 by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, was re-opened following a petition by Michael Emerah, an Onitsha-based business mogul and Chairman/Managing Director of Micmerah Group.

    He was allegedly defrauded of the money in 2001 by the defendants under the pretext of assisting him to import luxury buses and others.

    The AGF reportedly ordered the restoration of a fiat earlier granted Uche to prosecute the case on the Federal Government’s behalf.

    The last administration was said to have entered a Nolle prosequi (notice of discontinuance) in May 2011 and withdrew the fiat.

    It was learnt that President Muhammadu Buhari ordered that the case be to re-listed in the interest of justice and in line with his administration’s determination to rid the country of corruption.

    Justice Buba adjourned till February 9 for arraignment.

  • Synagogue: Court stops engineers’ prosecution

    Synagogue: Court stops engineers’ prosecution

    The Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday restrained Lagos State from prosecuting two engineers who built the collapsed guest house of the Synagogue Church of All Nations.

    Justice Ibrahim Buba granted an order of injunction barring the Commissioner of Police from arresting and detaining the applicants.

    The orders, the judge said, will subsist until the engineers’ appeal against his earlier ruling is determined by the Court of Appeal.

    Ruling on the engineers’ application for injunction pending appeal, Justice Buba urged the prosecution to ensure that the appeal is heard expeditiously.

    The judge said he could vacate the restraining order if the engineers fail to prosecute their appeal promptly.

    “In the circumstances of this case, the counter affidavit has not been able to show that I should not exercise my discretion judicially and judiciously.

    “Even though the applicants had suffered defeat in this court, I am inclined to granting this application on the caveat or rider that the applicants must pursue their appeal diligently and vigorously so that justice can be done to all parties.

    “The application for injunction pending appeal has merit and is granted.

    “If the applicants fail to prosecute the appeal diligently, the order can be vacated by this court or the Court of Appeal depending on the situation, the time and place,” Justice Buba held.

    Lagos State had preferred a 111-count charge against the Registered Trustees of SCOAN and the engineers over the collapsed building.

    Their arraignment was stalled on Monday.

  • Judge refuses to disqualify self in Kashamu’s case

    Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday refused to disqualify himself from adjudicating a suit filed by Senator Buruji Kashamu.

    Kashamu is praying the court to restrain the Federal Government from seizing his property over drug trafficking allegations.

    He sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Attorney-General of the Federation from taking possession of his property.

    Justice Buba had earlier restrained the NDLEA from arresting or extraditing Kashamu to the United States, where he is allegedly wanted.

    But NDLEA asked the judge to hands off the trial.‎ It said since Justice Buba, on June 23, reaffirmed a May 27 order by Justice Okon Abang of the same court stopping Kashamu’s arrest, he might not be fair in the case.

    The agency claimed the injunction amounted to preventing federal agencies from discharging their constitutional duties.

    NDLEA asked the judge to withdraw from the case on the basis that he might not reach a different conclusion in the fresh case having ruled in Kashamu’s favour once.

    According to NDLEA, the case file should be returned to the Chief Judge, Justice Ibrahim Auta, for reassignment to another judge.

    Refusing the application, Justice Buba said he would not shy away from deciding a case merely because of an unsubstantiated accusation of bias.‎ He dismissed the application for lacking in merit.

    Justice Buba said: “This application is part of the game of hide and seek between the parties before me who have been in and out of court. Some of the matters are on appeal.

    “The applicant failed woefully to point at any decision this court reached or point of law that it reached and is likely to reach in another one.”

    The judge said if any party is dissatisfied with any judgment, the right thing to do was to appeal, and not to accuse a judge of bias.

    “The Federal High Court is one. The judges are one. The applicant cannot pick and choose judges for their matters.

    “In sum, this court will not set aside its order made pending the hearing of the fundamental rights application, which is sui generis (unique.”

  • Synagogue: New judge to hear indicted engineers’ suit

    Synagogue: New judge to hear indicted engineers’ suit

    Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, has re-assigned a suit filed by two structural engineers indicted in the six-storey Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) building collapse to Justice Ibrahim Buba.

    The engineers are praying the court to quash a District Coroner’s verdict which found them culpable after an inquest.

    Justice Buba had last year adjudicated a suit which sought to stop the inquest.

    A Lagos-based lawyer, Olukoya Ogungbeje, who filed the suit on the church’s behalf, had contended that the inquest had a pre-determined objective since it was constituted by the state government whose agents made indicting statements against Synagogue and its founder, T.B. Joshua, prior to the inquest.

    But Justice Buba, in a judgment delivered last November 17, held that the coroner was a fact-finding body rather than a court. According to him, it was in the public’s interest to know the circumstances surrounding the death of several worshippers in the mishap.

    After the coroner indicted the engineers, namely Oladele Ogundeji and Akinbela Fatiregun, the duo filed two suits against the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), the state’s Attorney-General and the District Coroner, Mr. Oyetade Komolafe, a magistrate.

    The cases were filed during the court’s annual long vacation and were first heard by Justice Mohammed Idris who sat during the break period.

    Lagos State Government had filed a preliminary objection to the suit while it was still before Justice Idris.

    The engineers are challenging the July 8 coroner’s verdict on the death of 116 persons in the building collapse.

    Ogundeji and Fatiregun were accused of criminal negligence regarding the building’s construction. The coroner recommended them for criminal prosecution.

    Justice Idris had adjourned to Wednesday for further hearing, but the cases instead came up before Justice Buba.

     

  • Court lifts suspension of APC’s fund-raising platform

    The Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday restrained five telecoms firms from suspending All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign fund-raising platform.

    Justice Ibrahim Buba made the ex-parte order following the party’s motion.

    The judge made an order of interim injunction restraining Etisalat, MTN, Glo, Airtel and Visafone from giving effect to a directive by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) which warned them against running political promotions that will portray them as being partisan.

    The judge ordered the telecoms firms “to continue to run, operate and/or restore to its full operative use the SMS Code platform 35350 created for fund-raising for the applicant’s presidential campaign.”

    The orders are to subsist pending the hearing and determination of APC’s originating motion on notice.

    The court also granted APC leave to serve the originating motion on notice and other processes on NCC (the first defendant) outside the court’s jurisdiction.

    APC said the platform is to operate till February 12 when campaign activities for the presidential election will end in line with Electoral Act and the election time-table.

    In the originating motion, APC is demanding N25billion damages from the defendants for violating the fundamental rights of the party and its members.

    It said since the platform was suspended, it has been unable to disseminate or receive information from its supporters via the SMS code 35350.

    The party said while the platform was suspended, NCC has allowed that of President Goodluck Jonathan to run seamlessly.

    The party said it created a “premium SMS code 35350” through which willing donors could contribute to its presidential campaign fund.

    Within hours of its creation, APC said it was getting about five messages of N100 each every minute. A total of 5,400 messages were received, it said.

    However, NCC in a January 19 letter, directed all telecoms service providers “to avoid running political advertisements that will portray them as being partisan.”

    NCC said it would “not hesitate to sanction any service provider that will flout this directive.” As a result, the telecoms firms suspended the platform.

    However, APC said political parties have been using several media platforms to advertise, with none accused of being partisan.

     

  • Jimoh Ibrahim appeals judgment

    Jimoh Ibrahim appeals judgment

    The management of Newswatch Communications has filed a Notice of Appeal against the judgment of the Federal High Court in favour of the minority shareholders delivered yesterday in Lagos by Justice Ibrahim Buba.

    Justice Buba had quashed the sale of the company and awarded N15.7 million damages against its chairman Jimoh Ibrahim.

    But in his swift appeal, Jimoh Ibrahim said yesterday’s verdict contradicted an earlier judgment delivered by Justice O. E. Abang.

    In his judgment delivered on July 1, 2013 on the same matter, Justice Abang held as follows: “I have evidence before me that the second and third plaintiffs paid the purchase price of N510,000,000.00, if indeed they did not pay this amount before the completion date, which was May 5, 2011, I wonder why the agreement was even executed and I also wonder why he was admitted into the board of the first plaintiff and elected chairman.”

    It was in the case of Newswatch Communication & Others Vs Ray Ekpu & Others.

    In a statement last night, Ibrahim said the Federal High Court was not a final court in Nigeria, adding that it would be appropriate to file an appeal against the ruling.

    He said another Federal High Court, last year, ruled in favour of the majority shareholders. Justice Abang declared the sales of Newswatch Communications Limited to the new investor valid and invalidated the purported decision of the board for appointing Ray Ekpu to the board of the company.

    Justice Abang held that N510 million was paid for the purchase of the 51 per cent shares of the company, adding that the money was transferred to Newswatch’s account where the payment to Ray Ekpu and other directors were made.

    Justice Abang’s judgment was admitted into evidence in the proceeding before Justice Buba.

    In the new case brought by minority shareholders of the company, who together own less than (one per cent) shares, Justice Buba declared the sales of the majority shareholding invalid.

    Although the judgment of his learned brother, Justice Abang, was before him, Justice Buba said he could not find any evidence of receipt of payment.

    Reacting to the judgment, Ibrahim directed the management not to contribute to the problem of the Judiciary.

    He said the matter should be laid before the Court of Appeal, where he was convinced justice would be done.

    Ibrahim said yesterday’s judgment lacked legal foundation and moral reasoning, adding that he was sure the Court of Appeal would re-establish justice and the integrity of the Judiciary.