$418m Paris Club: Court Orders Service Of Contempt Charge Against Five SANs

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday ordered that the contempt charge motion against five Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) involved in the $418 million Paris Club refund suit be served on them through courier services.

The order for substituted service issued by Justice Inyang Ekwo followed complaints that the five senior lawyers have allegedly refused to personally receive the charge as required by law.

The four Senior Advocates are Sunday Mr. S.I. Ameh, Jubrin Okutepa, Dr. Garba Tetengi, Ahmed Raji, and Mr. Olumiyiwa Akinboro.

The contempt charge was initiated against them by a private company, Panic Alerts and its sponsor, George Uboh, who accused the lawyers of engaging in professional misconduct.

In the contempt charge, the senior advocates were alleged to have placed “Caveat Emptor” on the judgment of the Federal High Court which granted permission to President Muhammadu Buhari to deduct the $418 million from the financial allocations of the 36 state governments as payments for debt they incurred during the Paris Club refund contract.

The implications of the “Caveat Emptor”, according to the two applicants, was to impede the execution of the $418m judgment debt against the 36 States as their clients.

At the resumed proceedings in the matter on Wednesday, counsel to the states, Mr. Ameh, SAN, told the court that the said application for injunction had been overtaken by events since the appellate court was already seized with facts of the case.

He told the court that the application was filed before the record of appeal was entered.

“The appeal having been entered, the Court of Appeal is now seized with everything relating to this matter.

“We have filed an affidavit of fact to notify this court that an appeal has been duly entered in respect of the judgement”, Ameh added.

On his part, counsel to the two consultants who were cited as 15th and 16th defendants in the matter, Mr. Emeka Okoro, applied and secured leave of the court to serve contempt charge on the five SANs that represented the state AGs, through substituted means.

In processes before the court, the consultants, told the Court that the five SANs had three days after the judgement was delivered on March 25, issued a caveat emptor, asking members of the public and all financial institutions in the country and abroad, to desist from giving value to Promissory Notes the FG already issued to them.

They alleged that the caveat emptor that was issued by the SANs violated the ruling of the court delivered on December 13, 2021, the Judgment of the court delivered on March 25, as well as earlier consent judgment of the same court delivered on April 8, 2019, all of which have neither been vacated, upturned on appeal or their execution successfully stayed by any Court in Nigeria.

They alleged that the conduct of the SANs amounted to a grave violation of Section 287(3) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which imposed a peremptory duty on all authorities and persons to enforce the judgment of the Federal High Court of Nigeria throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

More so, they prayed the court to refer the five SANs to both the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC) and the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) for appropriate sanctions.

The defendants/applicants specifically applied for an order, committing the five SANs to prison custody, for contempt of court.

Justice Ekwo directed the service of the contempt charge on the five SANs within the next seven days, even as he fixed May 26 to hear the case.