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Tag: suit

  • Court refuses AMCON’s bid to halt trial in Bi-Courtney’s suit

    The Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday refused to stay proceedings in a suit by Bi-Courtney Group against the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).

    Bi-Courtney is challenging some of the defendant’s powers as prescribed in the AMCON Act.

    The instant suit arose from an alleged N50billion debt, which AMCON claims Bi-Courtney, the concessionaire of the Murtala Muhammad Airport, Terminal 2 Lagos, owes it.

    The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division had dismissed AMCON’s appeal of a ruling by Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court on the alleged debt.

    The judge had nullified an order appointing a former Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) President Mr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) as the receiver/manager over the assets of Bi-Courtney, its Chairman Dr Wale Babalakin (SAN), Chartered Investment Limited, Resort International Limited and Roygate Properties Limited.

    Justice Buba had held that the order by his colleague, Justice Okon Abang, was made in error and should not have been given when there were pending cases and subsisting orders on the same case.

    According to him, the true facts were not disclosed to Justice Abang. “This court has no doubt it has been misled,” the judge said.

    The appellate court, presided over by Justice Sidi Bage, upheld Justice Buba’s ruling. It added that the circumstances under which AMCON obtained the ex- parte order against Bi-Courtney Group amounted to an abuse of court process.

    The court resolved the issues formulated by the parties against AMCON and dismissed the appeal.

    Bi-Courtney, through its lawyer Oluseun Awonuga, filed a fresh suit against AMCON’s challenge of its powers and sought exemplary damages over the corporation’s actions concerning the debt.

    “We are contending that the actions they took against us were in bad faith,” Awonuga said yesterday while opposing the application for stay of proceedings.

    Besides, the lawyer said AMCON’s powers are “draconian” and that other debtors are in trouble if the corporation can obtain ex-parte orders to seize debtors’ property.

    “These rules are so draconian,” he said, adding that AMCON also requires debtors to pay certain fees daily until they liquidate their debts.

    AMCON’s lawyer James Ogungbamila sought to stay proceedings in the hearing pending the determination of its appeal to the Supreme Court.

    However, Awonuga opposed it, and urged the court to refuse it. He said AMCON was deliberately trying to stall proceedings.

    Ruling, Justice Mohammed Idris refused to stay proceedings because the appeal did not emanate from the case before him.

    “The application pending at the Supreme Court is not in relation to proceedings pending in this case. Sincerely, I see no reason why the application should be granted,” the judge held.

    Besides, he said there is no appeal “properly” filed before the Supreme Court yet.

    “There is nothing in the affidavit that supports the grant of this application. I see no reason why it should be granted. It fails and is hereby struck out,” Justice Idris added.

    He adjourned further hearing till tomorrow.

     

  • Court rules today on suit against Dogara

    A Federal High Court in Abuja will, today, rule on whether or not to restrain the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, and three others from appointing members as principal officers other than those suggested by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Yesterday, Justice Gabriel Kolawole,  after listening to applicants’ lawyer Seni Adio moved his client’s motion ex-parte for interim injunctions, fixed ruling for today.

    The applicants, who are members of the House – Abubakar Lado Abdullahi and Olajide Abdul Jimoh – are plaintiffs in a substantive suit  marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/625/2015.

    Listed as defendants are the Speaker, his deputy, the Clerk of the National Assembly and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF).

    The applicants, by their motion ex-parte, sought an order of interim injunction restraining the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker and Clerk of the National Assembly (listed as 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents) and their agents “from presenting and or announcing” other members of the House for the positions of Majority Leader, Deputy Majority Leader, Majority Chief Whip and Majority Deputy Chief Whip except those nominated by the APC in its chairman’s letter of June 23, 2015.

    The applicants also sought a similar order restraining the 1st, 2nd, 3rd respondents and their agents from preventing the announcement of the members of the House named in the letter by the party’s Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, for the five listed principal offices.

    The party, in the June 23 letter, entitled: “Party position on principal officers,” sent to Dogara, listed Femi Gbajabiamila for the Office of Majority Leader, Alhassan Ado Doguwa (Deputy Majority Leader); M.T. Monguno (Chief Whip) and Pally Iriase (Deputy Chief Whip).

    Adio told the court that the essence of the reliefs in the ex-parte motion, which he prayed the court to grant, was to preserve the res (subject of dispute) and prevent the respondents from foisting a fait accompli on the court.

    He added that it was equally important that the court grants the applicants’ prayers to prevent the defendants from foisting a state of helplessness on the plaintiffs and others interested in the suit.

    The applicants, in a supporting affidavit deposed to by Sope Omisore, stated that the Speaker openly declared his refusal to implement the APC’s directive on the appointment of principal officers as contained in the June 23 letter.

    They added that, as against the Speaker’s claim, the names sent to him by the party showed that the federal character principle was considered, with Gbajabiamila (from Southwest), Doguwa (Northwest), Monfuno (Northeast) and Iriase (Southsouth).

    The applicants stated that their resort to court was informed by the disagreement between them and the Speaker and his deputy on “whether federal character is required by law to be considered with respect to the appointment of principal officers of the APC, who are to occupy the position of principal officers in the House of Representatives’’.

    Abdullahi and Jimoh are, in the substantive suit, contesting, among others, the legitimacy of the defendants to ignore the party in the appointment of the principal officers.

  • Bank opens defence in Braithwaite’s N10b suit

    Bank opens defence in Braithwaite’s N10b suit

    Elder statesman Dr. Tunji Braithwate told a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja yesterday that the 14-storey head office building built by Standard Chartered Bank on Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island did not comply with the approval given the bank by the Lagos State Ministry of Environment and the final report on Enviromental Impact Assessment (EIA) Act 2004.

    Dr. Braithwaite spoke while cross examining one of the defence witnesses ,  Adeboye Fowora, a  Senior Project Manager with the bank at the resumed hearing of the N10 billion suit instituted against the bank.

    Standard Chartered Bank opened its defence yesterday.

    When the bank’s counsel, A.A. Adegbonmire, opened defence for the bank, the first witness, Susan Oluwole who once worked in the bank’s Corporate Real Estate Services Department, while under cross examination by Dr. Braithwaite, also stated that the head office building has reached completion stage.

    Ms Oluwole claimed that she was only aware “to a little extent” of the July 15, 2007 judgment delivered by Justice  Okoro  which Braithwaite claimed stopped the bank from going further ahead with the construction of the building at the second level.

    Adegbonmire objected to further cross examination of the witness. Justice Doris Okuwobi adjourned the matter till tomorrow for continuation of hearing.

  • Bank opens defence in Braithwaite’s N10b suit

    Elder statesman Dr. Tunji Braithwate told a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja yesterday that the 14-storey head office building built by Standard Chartered Bank on Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island did not comply with the approval given the bank by the Lagos State Ministry of Environment and the final report on Enviromental Impact Assessment (EIA) Act 2004.

    Dr. Braithwaite spoke while cross examining one of the defence witnesses ,  Adeboye Fowora, a  Senior Project Manager with the bank at the resumed hearing of the N10 billion suit instituted against the bank.

    Standard Chartered Bank opened its defence yesterday.

    When the bank’s counsel, A.A. Adegbonmire, opened defence for the bank, the first witness, Susan Oluwole who once worked in the bank’s Corporate Real Estate Services Department, while under cross examination by Dr. Braithwaite, also stated that the head office building has reached completion stage.

    Ms Oluwole claimed that she was only aware “to a little extent” of the July 15, 2007 judgment delivered by Justice  Okoro  which Braithwaite claimed stopped the bank from going further ahead with the construction of the building at the second level.

    Adegbonmire objected to further cross examination of the witness. Justice Doris Okuwobi adjourned the matter till tomorrow for continuation of hearing.

  • Tambuwal seeks dismissal of suit challenging ticket

    Tambuwal seeks dismissal of suit challenging ticket

    THE Sokoto State Governor-elect and Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, yesterday asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss a suit challenging his emergence as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in last Saturday’s governorship election.

    Tambuwal’s lawyer Jibrin Okutepa (SAN) contended that in view of his client’s victory at the election, the suit instituted by Senator Umaru Dahiru no longer possesses any live issue to be determined by the court.

    He noted that in view of the outcome of the election, most of the plaintiff’s prayers have been overtaken by events.

    Okutepa urged the court to order counsel in the case to address the court on whether or not there was still any legal reason for the court to continue hearing the case after the actual governorship election had been conducted and results declared.

    “The governorship election has been won and lost. Has this action not become academic? Is there any live issue to determine as utilitarian value to the plaintiff in view of the relief sought by him? I believe this issue should be resolved by your lordship before any other step can be taken.

    “Your lordship should order counsel to address the court on this issue.  The court should allow us to address your lordship. There is no more live issue in this case,” Okutepa said.

    Lawyer to the APC, Sunday Ameh (SAN), associated himself with Okutepa’s position.

    Plaintiff’s lawyer Awa Kalu (SAN) argued otherwise, insisting that there was still reasonable cause of action in the case.

    Kalu described the application by Tambuwal and APC as an attempt to deliberately “kill” the case.

    “When counsel deliberately kills a case, it must have a consequence. It is like murder.

    “This case will expose the choreography of the murder of the case. I do not agree that the case is dead. It is their responsibility to enunciate how the case is dead,” he said.

    Justice Evoh Chukwu ordered Tambuwal and APC to within five days file an address on the issue and serve the plaintiff.

    He also ordered the plaintiff to respond within five days of receiving the defendants’ processes. He adjourned to April 27.

    Dahiru sued after the December 14, 2014 APC governorship primaries in Sokoto State, urging the court to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from recognising Tambuwal as the APC’s governorship candidate.

    He contended that the primary was held in violation of the provisions of 2010 Electoral Act 2010 and the APC’s electoral guidelines.

    Listed as co-plaintiff in the case is Aliyu Sanyinna. APC, Tambuwal and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are the defendants.

    The plaintiffs, in their statement of claim, alleged that APC officials denied all other aspirants and their delegates, except Tambuwal and his delegates, access to the primary’s venue.

    They also alleged that the screening of delegates on the day of the primaries was not done between the stipulated hours of 8am and 12noon and that the list of the delegates as issued by the National Secretariat of APC was not used in the conduct of the primary.

  • Court adjourns N20 billion Calabar dredging suit to April 22

    The Federal High Court sitting in Calabar yesterday adjourned hearing on the N20 billion suit instituted by a businessman, Mr Sam Nmeje, against the Federal Government over the dredging of the Calabar sea port to April 22, 2015.

    Nmeje’s lawyer, Reginald Esere, told the court that the bailiff, one Mr. John, had again made several attempts to serve the 6th defendant (Calabar Channels Management Ltd.), “but could not trace the address.”

    He offered to personally make efforts to trace the address.

    Esere asked the court to adjourn the case, saying the respondents outside Calabar would also have been served before the next adjourned date.

    Justice Obilo Emmanuel expressed dissatisfaction with the way the plaintiff was taking time to serve all the respondents, but adjourned the case to April 22 for report of service.

     

  • APC applies to join UPN’s suit

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday applied to be joined as a defendant in a suit by the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    UPN is praying the Federal High Court in Lagos to list its presidential and other candidates for the March 28 and April 11 elections.

    The party said it was illegal not to be included in the ballot papers.

    APC’s legal team, led by Chief Emeka Ngige (SAN), asked the court to join it as its interest would be affected by the outcome of the case.

    INEC’s lawyer Jest Kelechukwu said the commission was not opposed to APC’s application.

    The commission filed a counter-affidavit to the suit, asking the court to dismiss UPN’s case.

    But UPN’s lawyer Akinwale Ekunusi opposed APC’s application, saying the suit’s subject-matter was between UPN and INEC.

    APC, he said, had no business seeking to be joined as a defendant.

    Justice Okon Abang, in a short ruling, said APC’s application would be determined first before the main suit, which was to be heard yesterday.

    UPN’s presidential candidate Helen Godswill, with others,  sued INEC for allegedly excluding their names from the elections.

    The plaintiffs accused INEC of failing to publish their names as required by Section 34 of the Electoral Act.

    Justice Abang said he would speed up the case, noting: “It is my view that time is of essence”.

    He adjourned till March 20 to hear APC’s application.

     

  • Court refuses Adamawa CJ’s prayer to stay hearing in Nyako’s suit

    The Adamawa Chief Judge, Justice Ishaya Banu, has lost in his bid to stay proceedings in the suit filed before the Federal High Court, Yola by ex-Governor Murtala Nyako.

    In a ruling yesterday, a three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, Yola (now sitting in Abuja), refused Banu’s prayer for a stay of proceeding in Nyako’s case pending the determination of his (Banu’s) appeal.

    The court, however, abridged time within which parties are to file and serve their briefs of argument. It gave the appellant and respondent one week each.

    Justice Banu had appealed the decision by Justice Bilikisu Aliyu, the then judge in the fundamental rights’ enforcement suit by Nyako. Banu had applied to be made a party in the suit. But Justice Aliyu refused his application on the grounds that he was not a necessary party, a decision he appealed.

    Nyako had initiated the suit to challenge the process leading to his impeachment last year. The suit, with the Adamawa State House of Assembly and others as defendants, was one of two suits filed by the governor shortly after his impeachment.

    Nyako had, in November 2014, alleged that he was denied a fair hearing by the impeachment panel, which recommended to the House of Assembly that he should be removed from office.

    Justice Aliu concluded hearing in the fundamental rights’ enforcement suit and adjourned till February 12. Before the date scheduled for judgment, the Chief Judge, Justice Auta, called for the file on the grounds that a petition was written against the judge by the Chief Judge of Adamawa State, Justice Ishaya Banu, through his lawyer, Festus Keyamo.

    Nyako protested Justice Auta’s action in a February 2015 petition to the National Judicial Council (NJC), accusing him of seizing the case file and “thereby forestalling the delivery of the court judgment slated for February 12.”

    Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court Mrs. Rosemary Dugbo-Oghoghorie, on February 18, denied Nyako’s allegation. She said the chief Judge called for the case file to enable him address a petition dated February 3, 2014, written to his office by Festus Keyamo, who is the lawyer to the chief judge of Adamawa State, a party in the case.

    The case has now been reassigned to another judge, Justice M.G Umar of the Bauchi division of the Federal High Court. The new judge has fixed hearing for March 17.

     

  • EPZ: Itsekiri community threatens suit

    Another Itsekiri community, Aja-Edede, has vowed to stop the EPZ project through the courts, if it is left out of future discussions.

    An open letter to President Goodluck Jonathan, signed by Pa John Edede Yonwuren, said Delta State and the Federal Government were carrying on as if the land belonged to Ugborodo and Gbaramatu alone, saying a large portion belonged to Aja-Edede.

    According to the letter, Aja-Edede was consulted in the past and met with the government, but wondered why the government abandoned it, dealing with only Ugborodo and Gbaramatu.

    “Any further attempt to sidetrack Aja–Edede in discussions will be resisted; justice, fairness and equity must prevail.

    ‘’The Delta State government and the Federal Government, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), must respect the property rights of Aja-Edede

    “The Ugborodo and Gbaramatu people are not the only stakeholders; they represent their various communities and not any other. Aja-Edede is at a loss why it was not invited to the meeting with Mr. President though Ugborodo and Gbaramatu were invited.

    “This is not acceptable to Aja-Edede community; if not consulted, we will use all legal means to scuttle the ground-breaking ceremony”, Yonwuren stated.

    The state government had been meeting with stakeholders from Ugborodo, Gbaramatu, Sokebolou/Yokri, Ikpokpo, Aja-Edede and Illaje on the EPZ to find a way forward for the take-off of the project but recently narrowed down the meeting to the two communities.

     

     

     

     

  • Court adjourns N621m suit against LAGBUS till April 27

    In ikeja High Court sitting in Lagos has adjourned till April 27 hearing in the N621 million suit filed by the family of a Lagos businessman, the late Francis Oranyeli against the LAGBUS Asset Management Company Limited, operators of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).

    The family led by its head, Pastor Victor Oranyeli is seeking N621 million from LAGBUS and its driver, Babatunde Ogun, as compensation for the death of itsbread winner.

    The other claimants in the suit are the late Oranyeli’s younger brother, Chinedu Oranyeli and widow, Mrs Taiwo Oranyeli.

    The late Oranyeli was allegedly knocked down by Ogun who drove a bus belonging to the company on September 5, 2013 while standing on the kerb at Ebute Ero, Lagos.

    The victim sustained spinal cord injury and died at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) in Idi-Araba, Mushin, Lagos.

    When hearing resumed in the case yesterday, counsel to the claimants, Chief Gabriel Amu Justice Atinuke Oluleye that attempts to resolve the matter amicably were being frustrated by the company and its insurers.

    Amu urged the court to hold the defendant company accountable as the victim was a young man who left behind dependants including a wife, three children and aged parents.

    But counsel to the defendants Mr. I. Okorie asked for more time to respond to the plaintiffs’ claims.

    Justice Oluyemi granted his request and adjourned the case till April 27.

    In their statement of claim, the plaintiffs are demanding for a declaration that the “driving of Babatunde Samuel, the 2nd defendant, in the course of his employment as staff, driver, employee of LAGBUS Asset Management Limited, which led to the death of Francis Oranyeli on the 5th day of September, 2013 was negligent and caused the death of late Francis Oranyeli.”

    They therefore demanded “a sum of N121, 200,000 being special damages for negligence, reckless, dangerous, and drunken driving committed allegedly by the second defendant whilst in the employment of the first defendant which occasioned and caused the death of the late Francis Oranyeli.”

    The plaintiffs are also asking the court for “N500 million being general damages for negligence, lack of consortium, lack of sustenance and maintenance, bereavement, loss of estate, loss of earnings, traumatic shock and emotional suffering consequent upon the death of Oranyeli occasioned by the lack of due care and negligence of the second defendant, who at all material times was in the employment of the 1st defendant.”

    They averred that the first defendant’s driver, driving negligently without due care and caution recklessly and dangerously, was involved in an avoidable accident with four cars, resulting to the injury and death of Francis Oranyeli, who was a pedestrian on the side of the road,” it stated.