By  Abdulwahab Abdulah

AS the Supreme Court is set  to expedite action in the case of 13,740 Nospecto investors whose N23.7billion were trapped in the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, the investors have affirmed the retainership of their counsel, Mr Debo Adeleke.

The investors who staged a protest over the controversies surrounding the legal representation in the case at the apex court,  denounced the appearance of another senior lawyer, who claimed tohave been briefed on the matter.

It would be recalled that sometime in April, 2017, the apex court directed the chambers of Debo Adeleke and Rowland Otaru (SAN) to resolve the issue of legal representation of the parties. The five-man panel of the Supreme court presided over by Justice Mary Ukego Peter-Odili after ruling on the argument of counsel adjourned further hearing till October 31, 2017.

The court said “I think it is important to let your clients know that this adjournment is not at the instance of the court. It is as a result of inability of counsel on either side to reconcile their representation.  We are here; we are ready to work. Clearly, that resolution has not happened. The matter would be further adjourned, so that some clarity made on who is representing whose motion is adjourned till October 31, 2017 for hearing.”

The protesters carried different placards which read: ‘Barrister Adeleke is our Lawyer. We want Supreme Court to know that Adeleke is still our Lawyer’, ‘ CBN release our money, we are dying.’ Supreme Court have mercy on us, give us our money’, we did not denounce Adeleke as our lawyer,” among other inscriptions.

One of the investors, Mr. Blessing Owosanye said that they have been in the struggle since November 2007 when SEC was directed to close the account of Nospecto on their behalf at the Investment and Security Tribunal (IST). It was affirmed that the money belongs to the investors  and in that respect, Central Bank was asked to keep charge of the money.

Following the development, the 13, 741 investors filed a matter, which was won before the tribunal in 2010 against the company through their counsel, Mr Debo Adeleke, with the aim of securing the release of their fund with the CBN which was confiscated from Nospecto Oil and Gas by SEC on behalf of the investors.