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When, on Monday, January 23, 2023, counsel to the Nigerian Nationwide Petroleum Firm (NNPC) Restricted, second defendant in “Senator Ifeanyi Godwin Araraume Vs President Muhammadu Buhari and two others”, Professor Konyinsola Ajayi (SAN) and Etigwe Uwa (SAN) walked out on the proceedings of the Court docket in protest towards Justice Inyang Ekwo’s insistence on ruling directly on all functions within the processes filed by events within the swimsuit, as a substitute of taking functions individually and deciding on them individually earlier than continuing, it was obvious that the second defendant had predetermined a stratagem with which to prosecute its case and was not able to abandon it.
Nevertheless, the legerdemain by Ekwo in dismantling the stratagem exasperated the NNPC counsel. It was a case of the counsel plotting their trajectory and the choose figuring out how he wished the court docket to proceed, and was decided to not shift his eyes from the ball. And to be truthful to Ekwo, he had instructed events from the outset that he would wish to take all functions directly so that when the problem of preliminary objection on lack of jurisdiction was selected, the court docket may both strip itself of jurisdiction or assume the identical and proceed instantly to ship judgment on the swimsuit that was commenced by way of originating summons.
In actual fact, it was additionally very clear that Justice Ekwo was able to take the swimsuit by way of a process that may reinforce the credibility and integrity of his rulings and/or judgment as he saved adverting the eye of counsel to the truth that he didn’t wish to give a ruling that may be challenged on the grounds of procedural inexactitudes or errors However the method adopted by the NNPC authorized staff in its defence was predictable: from the outset of submitting of discover of preliminary objection on grounds that the plaintiff’s motion was statute barred having regard to Part 2(a) of the Public Officers Safety Act Cap P41 LFN 2004; on the grounds that the motion constituted an abuse of court docket course of being one which was not supported by legislation, having regard to the provisions of the Interpretation Act 2004, the Petroleum Business Act 2021, the Firms and Allied Issues Act 2020, and the Articles of Affiliation of Nigerian Nationwide Petroleum Firm Restricted; on the grounds that the swimsuit was wrongly commenced by originating summons because the 75-paragraph affidavit in assist thereof raised inherently contentious details, and the reliefs sought within the originating summons required proof by oral proof; and, on the grounds that the plaintiff’s swimsuit, as constituted, was incompetent, missing in any explanation for motion; nor carrying any proper of motion, having regard to the statutory powers of the first Defendant/Respondent implicated on this motion.
After preliminary hitches and a few inchoate processes (essentially the most putting being the nonjoinder of the Company Affairs Fee as a crucial get together and which remark and ruling have been on the behest of the court docket, thus necessitating the submitting of an amended originating summons by the plaintiff and the constant housekeeping and a sequence of adjournments in addition), the Court docket received the events on Monday, January 23, to determine their processes and undertake the identical in graduation of particular listening to. It was at this intersection that the NNPC authorized staff wished the court docket to entertain its utility for keep of execution of the January 11, 2023 ruling by the court docket to take all functions and processes collectively and rulings/judgment delivered on them on the identical day.
The NNPC authorized staff wished the court docket to additionally permit it to obtain responses from the plaintiff to its interrogatories filed on January 19, 2023, which Justice Ekwo didn’t permit regardless of Prof Ajayi’s seeming good authorized maneuvers wherein he cited Supreme Court docket authorities that “interrogatories” have been on the coronary heart of truthful listening to. Apparently, this is without doubt one of the grounds upon which it’s hinging its enchantment on the Court docket upstairs of the January 11 ruling. The staff claimed that the trial court docket breached its proper to truthful listening to with out affording it a possibility to strengthen its defence earlier than continuing to listen to and decide the substantive swimsuit, subsequently occasioning a miscarriage of justice on the appellant.
Justice Ekwo had, on January 23, after deeming all events to have recognized and adopted the processes they’d already filed earlier than the Court docket, dominated that the court docket would ship rulings/judgment on the functions and the substantive swimsuit (originating summons) on March 28, 2023. However the NNPC authorized staff didn’t need the matter to be so simply and comprehensively decided. It clearly was out to trigger a dilation of the authorized course of. It wished to make use of discover of preliminary objection to delay expeditious listening to and willpower of the swimsuit. The Court docket didn’t fall for it, insisting that each one functions and processes can be taken collectively. At one other sitting of the court docket, its failure to file its counter affidavit stalled the listening to of the matter, truly occasioning adjournment to January 23.
All by way of the authorized gymnastics, Justice Ekwo was on prime of the proceedings, guiding the court docket and calming frayed nerves of the Plaintiff’s lead counsel, Chief Chris Uche (SAN), who was episodic in his observations in regards to the NNPC authorized staff’s plan to frustrate expeditious listening to and willpower of the case. Justice Ekwo pleaded with the authorized groups to cooperate with the court docket in making certain that the swimsuit was successfully decided, and alluded to the presence of the calibre of SANs within the matter and his expectations that by way of their submissions they’d assist enrich Nigeria’s jurisprudence.
It may subsequently be imagined how tremendously disenchanted Justice Ekwo will need to have been when the NNPC authorized staff resorted to the hackneyed tactic of attempting to delay or dilate court docket continuing and/or waste the dear time of court docket by disavowing the process clearly set out by the court docket from the outset; and by predisposing itself to the technique of deploying technicalities within the mixture of jurisdictional willpower of the swimsuit. However Justice Ekwo had calmly instructed all of the events that he wouldn’t take any utility singly as he would take all processes and functions collectively. That is the grouse of the NNPC’s authorized staff about Justice Ekwo’s place. Considerably. Justice Ekwo had reserved judgment within the swimsuit for March 28.
The query now could be: How persuasive can the NNPC authorized staff be in shifting the Court docket of Attraction to grant its prayers, significantly the prayer for an order of the court docket setting apart the whole lot of proceedings carried out by Justice E.I. Ekwo on January 23, 2023 in swimsuit quantity FHC/ABJ/ CS/1621/2022- Senator Ifeanyi Godwin Araraume Vs The President, the Federal Republic of Nigeria & two Ors; and an order directing the Chief Decide of the Federal Excessive Court docket to reassign the swimsuit to a different Decide of the Federal Excessive Court docket for willpower, significantly when the Federal Excessive Court docket has but to ship judgment within the swimsuit which Justice Ekwo had mounted for March 28? The enchantment by the NNPC authorized staff has additional proven its authentic intention to frustrate the listening to and willpower of the substantive swimsuit (originating summons) by way of preliminary objections grounded on jurisdictional points.
Will the Court docket of Attraction a method or one other entertain the enchantment to the exclusion of joinders of points by crucial events within the swimsuit within the court docket under? Does the moment enchantment equate or quantity to a keep of proceedings of the swimsuit, which listening to had already been concluded within the open court docket and judgment mounted for March 28, 2023? Can this event an arrest of the judgment? A plethora of questions and issues by an “unlearned” reporter within the enterprise of Legislation! Simply how the enchantment by Professor Ajayi (SAN) and Etigwe Uwa (SAN) on the occasion of the NNPC Restricted will enrich jurisprudence is a query that excites the thoughts. All palms are saved crossed.
● Ojeifo despatched on this piece through ojwonderngr@yahoo.com
