By Gabriel Enogholase
BENIN — An Edo State  High Court, Benin, has restrained former executive members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Benin Depot, their agents or privies from interfering, disturbing, obstructing or doing anything whatsoever capable of hindering the smooth running and management of the affairs of the association and the Caretaker Committee recently set up by the national executive of the association.
Trial judge in the matter, Justice E. Edigin, granted the order, following an ex-parte application by Mr. Douglas Iyike and eleven other  members of the Benin Depot of IPMAN Caretaker Committee against Chief Lucky Ojo and three others, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice file in the suit.

While granting the interim injunction, the court ordered the plaintiffs to enter into an undertaking to pay damages, should it turn out that the order ought not to have been made.

Justice Edigin also ordered that the defendants be served with the motion on notice within five days.
The court also granted the defendants leave to defend the action in a representative capacity,  just as it adjourned the case till August 18.

It will be recalled that the national executive of IPMAN under the leadership of Alhaji Muhammed Abdukadir recently set up a Caretaker Committee led by Mr. Douglas Iyike to run the affairs of the Benin Depot of IPMAN for three months.

The committee was also saddled with the mandate of conducting election that would see the emergence of a new executive for the association.

However, since the inauguration of the caretaker committee, crisis within the union has been further fueled, following the refusal by the members of the immediate past executive of the association to recognise the action of the national leadership of IPMAN.