A Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, directed commencement of contempt proceedings against the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, following allegations that he flouted earlier court order.
Justice Donatus Okorowo gave the directive after counsel for the plaintiff, Abdulhakeem Mustapha, SAN, informed the court about the development.
Mustapha said that Amaechi allegedly violated an order to maintain status-quo issued on Jan. 22 in a suit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of Citizens Advocacy for Social and Economic Rights (CASER).
It was reported that CASER had challenged Amaechi’s handling of the process of appointing operators of the International Cargo Tracking Note (ICTN) in Nigeria.
In the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1587/2021, it alleged, among others, that Amaechi manipulated the appointment process to the benefit of two local and inexperienced firms – Medtech Scientific Ltd and. Rozi International Nigeria Ltd.
Listed with Amaechi as defendants in the suit are the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Medtech Ltd, and Rozi Ltd.
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At the resumed hearing plaintiff’s lawyer, Mustapha told the court that Amaechi defied the order for the maintenance of the status quo and continued with the appointment process and is currently on the verge of completing the process of appointment.
“He (Amaechi) has taken fundamental steps on the subject matter of this suit, and we have documents to be placed before the court to establish that he has ignored the order of the court completely.
“In order to protect the sanctity of this honourable court, we have issued Form 48 against the Minister of Transportation. With the commencement of this committal process, which takes precedence over any other matter.
“We urge this court to suspend further proceedings in the substantive suit,” he said.
Mustapha said having issued Form 48 on the minister, he was in the process of filing a motion on notice to commit the minister to prison.
In response, Amaechi’s lawyer, Omosanya Popoola, admitted receiving a letter notifying him of the issuance of Form 48 on his client.
Popoola said his client is a law-abiding citizen and he was yet to be personally served with Form 48.
Lawyer to BPP, Akin Olujinmi, SAN, said his client had also not been served with the Form 48 personally as required by law.
Olujinmi argued that there was no motion for committal before the court, adding that the plaintiff’s lawyer had to file an affidavit to establish his allegations that the defendants, including Amaechi, had violated the court’s order.
On his part, lawyer to the AGF, Mohammed Sheriff aligned himself with the defense lawyers’ submissions that proceedings in the main suit should not be halted.
Justice Okorowo agreed to suspend proceedings in the main suit, noting that: “Once the issue of contempt is raised, the court must suspend proceedings.”
According to the judge, the court will not close its eyes when being told that its orders are being flouted.
“We have to suspend proceedings for the court to ascertain the veracity of the allegations,” he said.
The judge then directed the plaintiff’s lawyer to proceed to file a motion on notice with an affidavit to establish the facts of the alleged violation of court’s orders, which must be filed and served before the next adjourned date.
Also, a firm, Antaser Nigeria Limited, in an application, prayed the court to be joined as a party in the suit.
Antaser’s lawyer, James Ogwu Onoja, SAN, told the court that his client was a necessary party in the case because it sought to participate in the bidding process but was unlawfully excluded.
CASER, in an affidavit supporting the substantive suit, alleged that the purported procurement process, leading to the appointment of the 4th and 5th defendants (Medtech and Rozi) as companies providing ICTN services showed that it was riddled with non-compliance with the known procurement procedures as stipulated in the law.
“The failure of the relevant agencies to follow due process and appoint qualified companies contributed immensely to the failure of the ICTN project in the year 2010 and 2015,” it averred.
The group then sought an order nullifying the entire process of appointing the 4th and 5th defendants as operators of the international cargo tracking note in the country, among others.
