By Olasunkanmi Akoni

A legal practitioner, Mr. Martin Iwuegbu, has petitioned the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Dahiru Musdapher over what he called “incredible” ex-parte order allegedly  granted by Hon. Justice Okechukwu Okeke of the Federal High Court in Suit No FHC/l/CP/1405/2011; Chief Anthony Obinwa v Alhaji Olapade Olagunju Mohammed & Ors.

Apparently, lamenting the skewed fate of one of his clients, AKS Steel Nigeria Limited, and the company’s Board Chairman, Alhaji Olapade Olagunju Mohammed, Iwuegbu asked the CJN who doubles as the Chairman, National Judicial Council, NJC to intervene in the case and ensure that justice is indeed done.

In his petition, Iwuegbu said, there was an  ex-parte order granted by Hon. Justice Okeke based on a case filed by one Chief Anthony Obinwa against Alhaji Olapade Olagunju Mohammed & Ors.

The lawyer said his client disclosed that Obinwa “has no relationship with our company except being an agent of one Satish Kashyap, a proxy to other investors in the company,” adding that the Judge had illegally appointed one Olusegun Bamidele Ajayi as the Receiver/Manager of the company.

Quoting the client, Iwuegbu said, “I registered the company in 1984. The company produces steel/iron for building alongside AKS Rolling Mill. And I know that Obinwa has only 1000 shares till date. This is a case that we have won both at the Appeal and Supreme Courts.”

The petitioner, Alhaji Mohammed, a retired Zonal Controller of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and former Chairman of Wema Bank Plc, said in his petition dated December 23, 2011, titled,  “Please Save Our Soul,” that he decided to bring to the attention of the CJN to “the horrifying,  suspicious, abusive and very unusual judicial threat and siege under which the Respondents in Petition No. FHC/CP/1405/2011 at the Federal High Court, Lagos have been put and subjected to  through an ex-parte order.

“He (Justice Okeke) purportedly granted on 15th December, 2011 and which said ex-parte order be obeyed retrospectively from January, 2006. I am the Chairman of the 5th Respondent (AKS Steel Nig. Ltd) in the above-stated petition pending before the Okeke J. at the Federal High Court, Lagos.”

Lamenting the plight of his company, the petitioner noted, “our company and humble selves have been put under siege and threat by the said ex-parte order. On December 29, 2011, one Mr. Olusegun Bamidele Ajayi came in company of over 20 armed and fierce looking policemen to the premises of our company and drove everybody away, on the ground that the Federal High Court, per Okeke J. gave an ex-parte order appointing Olusegun Bamidele Ajayi as the Receiver/Manager of the company.”

He said an ex-parte order received by one Mr. Najeem Temidayo Ademola, an Administrative Officer of the company, disclosed that “Mr. Olusegun Bamidele Ajayi has been appointed as Receiver/Manager of our company vide the said order.

Surprisingly, in the same said ex-parte order, the purported Petitioner was granted order of substituted service when the Petitioner knows the addresses of the Respondents and has not made any attempt whatsoever in putting any of the Respondents on notice in respect of the matter. In effect, we were not aware of the existence of this action before the far-reaching orders were made against our company and other Respondents.”

He said further, “We are not unaware that a court or tribunal can make an ex-parte order, but permit us to state that the way and manner his Lordship, Okeke J. has handled this matter leaves much to be desired.”

On the steps he took, the petitioner stated : “With the greatest respect to the court, we applied for the certified true copies of all the processes filed in this action, but we met brick walls, as we were told by the court officials that they had strict instructions of His Lordship, Justice Okeke not to allow anybody have access to the file beside the fact that His Lordship had taken the file to his personal custody.

Curiously too, the extra copy of processes which every litigant at the Federal High Court is made to deposit with the Registry is equally missing and/or again was not released to us probably upon strict instruction. This, in our view does not bear credence to the saying that the Judiciary is the last hope of common man.

“Again, upon a further search of the court’s record, we discovered that the matter was listed for hearing on the December 19, 2011 and not December 15 when the said ex-parte orders were purportedly made. In fact, upon our enquiry, we discovered that both the Justice Okeke’s Registrar and clerks were not aware of any day the matter came up, whether in his Lordship’s Chambers or in the open court.

“On the December 19, 2011, which the matter was listed on the court’s case list, it was again suspiciously cancelled. One now wonders when and where these far reaching orders were made.” He said that there is a pending action before the same Federal High Court in suit No: FHC/CS/1095/20006, the Court of Appeal in appeal No: CA/L/558m/09 and the Supreme Court in SC/101/2010, which are all in respect of the appointment of Olusegun Bamidele Ajayi as the Receiver/Manager of the company.

He noted, “with the pendency of these actions at the various superior courts in Nigeria as aforementioned, one would have thought that Justice Okeke, who is duty bound to take judicial notice of all the aforementioned matters in the various courts, would allow himself to be used to truncate the course of justice or allow the law to be used as an instrument of illegality.”

The petitioner added, “Chief  Obinwa who has no relationship with our company is an agent of the said Satish Kashyap. He added, “ the said Satish Kashyap is now always present in the factory and spends most of the time in the factory. As at now, it is on record that the purported Receiver/Manager acts only on the instructions of the said Satish Kashyap.”

Mohammed, therefore, prayed the CJN to “take a most urgent and considerate steps”by setting up an enquiry into the circumstances leading to the very strange decision, of the court on December 15, 2011.

He also urged the CJN to “investigate  the circumstances leading to the issuance of an ex-parte order by Justice Okeke on 15-12-2011 in respect of an ex-parte order application purportedly filed on 28-11-11 relating also to a matter or cause of action which arose on 20-01-06 despite warnings by your Lordship against the misuse of ex-parte orders,” when there were directives of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court discharging Olusegun Bamidele Ajayi from his appointment as receiver manager of the same company.

He also called on the CJN to investigate whether or not any action was actually filed by the Petitioner, particularly if there was ever a Motion on Notice before Jusice Okeke when he allegedly slammed the ex-parte orders on them.

He equally asked the CJN to invite them before a constituted panel to produce their evidence against the misuse of the ex-parte order by the court.