BY ANTHONY OCHELA, ABUJA
High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, sitting in Maitama yesterday adjourned further hearing on the leadership crisis rocking the Staff Multipurpose Cooperative Society of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, till November 8.
Justice Charles Agbaza held that the court would on the next date equally hear a motion that 15 staff of NNPCL, who are defendants in the matter, filed to disqualify him from presiding over the case.
The defendants, through their team of lawyers led by Mr Ibrahim Idris (SAN), is asking the judge to recuse himself, insisting that they are not comfortable with his ability to resolve the leadership dispute objectively.
They alleged that some of the interim orders the judge made in the matter reflects his bias against them.
“The defendants, on whose behalf the instant application was brought, have lost total and complete faith and confidence in the ability of the presiding judge in this matter to continue to entertain this suit and serve justice without bias.
“The conduct of the presiding judge during the hearing of this suit, particularly judging from the nature of his orders so far, only points to one impeachable conclusion that the defendants are not likely to access justice in this honourable court, hence the request that the presiding judge recuse himself from presiding over this suit,” the 15 staff said.
The defendants, in the motion they predicated on Section 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, noted that the court had on October 3, while there was a contention between two lawyers over who was validly briefed to represent the cooperative society (16th defendant), ordered Lekan Ogunbayo to clarify who he had instructed as the president of the management committee of the cooperative, to defend it in the matter.
According to the defendants, “The fulcrum of the substantive suit principally revolves around whether the tenure of the management committee led by Ogunbayo (which had been removed by the congress of the association as at then) was subsisting.
“The status quo ante bellum was that an interim management committee led by the second and third defendants as the president and secretary, respectively, had been appointed by the congress of the 16th defendant and indeed, had been performing the functions of their offices, hence the challenge of the said decision by the claimants before the court.
“The decision of the court ordering the appearance of the said Mr Ogunbayo in the circumstance, had prejudged the suit at the interlocutory stage.
“Furthermore, the order made by the court on October 10, directing that the interim order of injunction made on May 30 shall abide pending the hearing of the consolidated applications and substantive suit without hearing the defendants on whether or not it is suitable to grant an injunction in the circumstance, amounts to denial of fair hearing of the defendants.
“The decision of the court to extend the interim order of injunction in the circumstance without hearing the other side, amounts to a perversion of justice,” they added.
Justice Agbaza, who acknowledged receipt of the motion, adjourned to hear all the pending applications in the matter.
The suit, marked: FCTHC/ABJ/CV/260/2024, was brought before the court by four aggrieved members of the cooperative- Eze Onwuneme, Chamberlin Ajagba, Alhaji Ibrahim Yakubu and Bello Mohammed Garba.
Cited as defendants in the matter include Engr Josiah Gbemi Omole, Udo Iboro, Ituah Aikhena, Osondu Ibeji, Farouk Achimugu, Prince Etuwewe, Nura Bello, Micheal Adejoh, Sambo Abdulaziz, Vincent Orji, Saint Kamvene, Braimoh Sunday Joseph and Galadima Immanuel.
Earlier, counsel for the plaintiffs, Mr George Ibrahim (SAN) indicated his readiness to withdraw a contempt charge that his clients had initiated against the Director in charge of Human Resources Department, NNPCL, Mrs Fatima Yakubu, over an allegation that she flouted the interim orders of the court in respect to the matter.
