Justice Tijjani Ringim of the Federal high court in Lagos yesterday restrained the Inspector-General of Police, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 2 Command, Lagos, the Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State, the Rapid Response Squad, Ekiti State from inviting or arresting Directors and members of Staff of JNC International Limited over a civil contract for the supply and installation of medical equipment.
The order followed an ex-parte application filed and argued on behalf of the company and its directors by eminent lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ebun-Olu Adegbooruwa, SAN.
Specifically, Justice Ringim directed all the parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum before the filing of the case in court pending the hearing and final determination of the Motion on Notice.
Sued as respondents in the suit are the Inspector-General of Police, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, the Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State, the Rapid Response Squad Ekiti State, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, and Aare Afe Babalola, SAN.
In the suit filed on August 8, 2022, the Applicants are seeking amongst others “A declaration that the 1st – 3rd Respondents are not entitled to arrest, detain or in any other manner restrict the liberties of the 1st – 4th Applicants, in flagrant violation of the 1st – 4th Applicants’ fundamental rights guaranteed under section 35 and 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Articles 6 and 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, CAP 10, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990.
“A declaration that the arrest and detention of the 1st and 2nd Applicant on August 3, 2022, by the 1st – 3rd Respondents, their agents, servants, officers or otherwise, in lieu or in place of Director(s) of JNC International Limited, the 5th Applicant, are unlawful, illegal and constitute a flagrant violation of the 1st and 2nd Applicants’ fundamental rights guaranteed under sections 35, 36, 41 and 46 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Articles 6, 9 & 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and therefore unconstitutional, null and void.
“A declaration that the arrest and detention of the 1st and 2nd Applicants from August 3, 2022, till August 6, 2022, by the 1st – 3rd Respondents, their agents, servants, officers or otherwise constitute a flagrant violation of the 1st and 2nd Applicants’ fundamental rights guaranteed under sections 35, 36, 41 and 46 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Articles 6, 9 & 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and therefore is illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.
“A declaration that the detention, confinement, and incarceration of the 1st and 2nd Applicants from August 3, 2022, till August 6, 2022, by the 1st – 3rd Respondents, their agents, servants, privies, officers or otherwise howsoever without bringing the 1st and 2nd Applicants before a court of law is a clear violation of the 1st and 2nd Applicants’ fundamental human rights guaranteed under section 34, 35, 36, 41 and 46(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and Articles 6, 9 & 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and is therefore illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.
The applicants are also seeking a declaration that the issued invitation letter dated 26th July 2022 by the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Respondents to the Directors of the 5th Applicant and others subsequent, at the instance of the 4th – 5th Respondents, in respect of commercial transactions between the 5th Applicant and the 4th – 5th Respondents, constitutes a flagrant violation of the 3rd and 4th Applicants’ fundamental rights guaranteed under sections 35 and 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Articles 6 and 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, CAP 10, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990 and is therefore illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.
They urged the court to restrain the 1st – 3rd Respondents, whether by themselves, their servants, agents, officers or otherwise howsoever from further arrest and detention of the 1st and 2nd Applicants.
The Applicants also prayed the court to restrain the 1st – 3rd Respondents, whether by themselves, agents or servants or otherwise from invading the premises and property of the 5th Applicant at 30, Raymond Njoku Street, Off Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos State, on the behest of the 4th – 5th Respondents.
The applicants are also demanding the sum of N1,000,000,000 (One Billion Naira) being general, aggravated, special and exceptional damages against the Respondents, jointly and/ or severally for the violation of the fundamental rights of the Applicants.
They are also demanding for additional N100,000 (On Hundred Million Naira) against the 4th – 5th Respondents being the cost of instituting and prosecuting this suit.
In a 74-paragraph affidavit deposed to by the Managing Director of JNC International, Mrs. Clare Omatseye, she narrated how Afe Babalola University approached the company for the supply and installation of medical equipment for the use of the College of Medicine of the University, and the said equipment was imported and installed but because the university could not guarantee constant electricity supply to power it, an issue of proper maintenance arose, which the company rose up to and resolved, even at great costs to it.
She stated further that in line with the sale agreement between the parties, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN through his law firm gave the notice to commence arbitration and an arbitrator was indeed appointed, however, the issues were subsequently resolved and the arbitration was called off.
However, the company was shocked to receive an invitation letter from the Rapid Response Squad of the Ekiti State Police Command at the instigation of Afe Babalola University, leading to the forceful invasion of the company premises by policemen and officers of the university on August 3, 2022, in commando style, whereupon two members of the staff of the company were forcefully driven away from Lagos to Ekiti in the dead of the night.
On their way to Ekiti, the police convoy allegedly ran into armed robbers around 2 am resulting in a fierce shootout the two members of staff of the company were caught in the firepower, and all pleas to allow them to lodge in a hotel in Osun State were rebuffed and they were forcefully driven to Ekiti State and kept in custody.
The police in Ekiti kept the members of staff of the company in custody as a ransom for the appearance of the directors of the company and they were told that they would only be released upon the directives of Aare Afe Babalola, until late Saturday, August 6, 2022, when they were eventually released.
The company expressed the fear that unless the court intervenes urgently the police will still carry out its threat of invading the office of the company and may arrest and detain its directors upon a purely civil matter for which Aare Afe Babalola, SAN himself had previously initiated arbitration proceedings.
The case has been adjourned to 18th August 2022, for hearing of the Motion on Notice.
