Court Moves To Commit Mining Company Directors, Government Officials To Prison For Non-Compliance With Judgment

The Federal High Court in Abuja is set to hear a motion seeking the imprisonment of several high-ranking government officials and directors of Zothmann Mining Limited for contempt of court.

The motion, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/320/2021 filed by Igweajah Pius Ogbonnia, who is suing on behalf of himself and the landowners and occupiers at Oviri Onuogbu Amaedim, Ngwogwo Community, Ishiagu Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, seeks to commit the officials to prison for their alleged refusal to obey a judgment delivered by the court on March 11, 2024.

The officials named in the motion include Professor Aliyu Jauro, Director General/CEO of National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Chief Henry Dele Alake, the Honourable Minister of the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Obadiah Simon Nkom, the Director General of the Mining Cadastre Office, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, the Honourable Minister of Environment, and Nwokeji Victor and Nwokeji Nneamaka, both directors of Zothmann Mining Limited. Onwuzurumba Chibuike, the Company Secretary of Zothmann Mining Limited, is also named in the motion.

According to the motion, the court had directed the defendants, in its March 11 judgment, to comply with relevant statutes that mandate a minimum distance of 3,000 meters (3km) between a quarry site and residential areas to avert a potential catastrophic human disaster in the Oviri Onuogbu Amaedim community. The court also found that the failure of Zothmann Mining Limited and its directors to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) on the mining and blasting site was wrongful.

The motion argues that despite the subsisting orders of the court, the defendants have refused and neglected to comply, and unless they are sent to prison, they will continue to disobey the court’s orders. The applicant contends that the enrolled judgment orders of the court have been duly served on the parties sought to be committed.

In support of the motion, the applicant’s counsel, Sir Nkemakolam Okoro, S.C., Esq. (LL.M), and others, have filed a written address arguing that the court has the requisite jurisdiction to grant the application as prayed. They rely on the Supreme Court’s decision in AG Anambra State v. AG FRN & Ors (2005) LPELR-13(SC), which held that an order of court, no matter the fundamental vice attaching thereto, remains legally binding and valid until set aside by due process of law.

The court is expected to hear the motion on a date to be announced, and the defendants have been served with the relevant court papers through their counsel.