Court Fixes March 28 For Judgment On Ararume Suit
A Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed March 28, 2023 to rule in the N100billion suit filed by Senator Ifeanyi Ararume against President Muhammadu Buhari challenging the withdrawal of his appointment as non-executive chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company NNPC Limited.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, after taking arguments from counsels to Ararume, President Buhari and Corporate Affairs Commission, fixed the date for ruling and possible judgment in the suit.
Meanwhile, drama ensued during the Monday’s court session when counsels to NNPC limited, Professor Kayinsola Ajayi and Etigwa Uwa staged a walkout on the Court.
Prof. Kanyinsola Ajayi, SAN, and Mr Etigwa Uwa, SAN, counsel to the NNPC, walked out of the courtroom following their failure to get the judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo to hear only their application for a stay of procedings in the suit.
Ajayi, after identifying his processes, prayed the court to allow him argue his application for stay of procedings in the matter pending the hearing and determination of the appeal against the ruling of the court delivered on Jan. 11.
Leading other lawyers on behalf of the NNPC, Ajayi insisted that it was in the spirit of fair hearing to allow him move the application for stay of procedings and a ruling delivered before delving into other applications and the substantive matter.
The lawyer made frantic attempts to make the judge agree with his submissions but when he saw that his efforts were not yielding positive results, he offered to withdraw his representation.
When the judge refused to acknowledge his withdrawal, Ajayi and his brother silk, Uwa as well as all the counsel they were leading in the matter walked out of the courtroom without putting up a defence for their client.
Justice Ekwo, had told counsel to move all their applications together saying that he would deliver separate rulings in each of the applications so as to save judicial time of the court in line with the provisions of the Practice Direction of the Federal High Court.
The judge asked the lawyers to go ahead and adopt their processes.
“Prof. Ajayi, even if you do not adopt your processes, it will be deemed as having been adopted.”
Before adopting his processes, counsel to Ararume, Mr Chris Uche, SAN, told the court that the motion for stay of procedings had not been served on him but the judge asked that the process be served on him in court, which was done.
Uche prayed the court to invoke the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) to nullify the removal of his client as Chairman of NNPC.
The senior lawyer told the court that the federal government acted outside the law when it removed Ararume after registering the oil company in his (Ararume’s) name.
According to Uche, the action counsel to the 2nd defendant has put up before this court is a clear sign that they have no defence in this case.
He urged the court to enter judgment in his clients favour.
For his part, counsel to the Federal Government, Mr Abubakar Shuiabu, asked the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety with substantial cost.
Shuiabu argued that the suit was against the principles of Section 2 (a) of the Public Officers Act and as such was incompetent.
For his part, counsel to the Corporate Affairs Commission, (CAC), Mr Akeem Mustapha, SAN, also prayed the court to decline jurisdiction to hear the suit.
Mustapha submitted that the CAC did not play any role in the removal of Ararume.
According to him, our role is only to collate documents, file them and make them available to the public.
He, however, added that Ararume’s appointment was a political one and that it was trite law that he who had the powers to hire could also fire.
After taking submissions from Ararume, the federal government and the CAC, Justice Ekwo fixed March 28 for ruling and possible judgment in the matter.
Senator Ararume had dragged President Buhari before the Court praying it to declare his removal as NNPC Chief illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional adding that it is a total breach of Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) law under which NNPCL was incorporated.
Apart from asking the court to issue order to return him to office, Ararume also demanded for N100billion as compensation for the damages he suffered nationally and internationally on how his removal was carried.
