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Alleged Racism: Court strikes out suit against Seplat CEO, Brown, Omiyi, and others
A claim filed by some disgruntled shareholders against Seplat Energy, its CEO, Mr. Roger Brown, and the Chairman, Board of Directors, Mr. Basil Omiyi, was dismissed today by Justice Chukwuejekwu Aneke of a Lagos Federal High Court over alleged racism.
After the stakeholders’ lawyer, Mr. Ayodele Arotiowa told the tribunal of his client’s decision to drop the claim, the judge dismissed it.
The petitioners in the FHC/L/402/2023 complaint were Moses Igbrude, Sarat Kudaisi, Kenneth Nnabike, Ajani Abidoye, and Robert Ibekwe, with Seplat Energy Plc, Mr. Brown, and Omiyi identified as first to third Defendants.
The petitioners were asking the court for an order of mandatory injunction restraining the second respondent (Brown) from parading himself as the CEO of Seplat or working for Seplat in any other capacity.
They equally sought an order restraining Seplat and the company’s Board Chairman from retaining Brown as the CEO of Seplat or retaining his services for Seplat in any capacity.
But at the resumed hearing of the substantive suit today, counsel to the petitioners, Mr. Ayodele Arotiowai informed the court that his clients have filed a Notice of withdrawal and were no longer willing to continue with the suit.
Addressing the tribunal, Seplat’s counsel, Mr. Uzoma Azikiwe (SAN) told the court that his client has filed an appeal challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit and urged the court to suspend all proceedings pending determination of the appeal.
For his part, counsel to Seplat’s CEO, Mr. Kayode Adesina, informed the tribunal that the notice of withdrawal filed by the Petitioners was served on him in tribunal after the appeal challenging the jurisdiction of the tribunal had been entered at the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division. He submitted that the petitioners filed their notice of discountenance on April 18, 2023, but decided to serve the Respondents in tribunal.
While not opposing the Notice of Discontinuance, he asked the tribunal to award the sum of N10 million as a cost against the petitioners for the delay in serving notice of discontinuance, which counsel to the petitioners blamed on the court’s bailiff.
In his Ruling, Justice Aneke struck out the suit and ordered the petitioners to pay N1 million to the second and third respondents.
