Court Sentences Young Lawyer To Three Months Imprisonment For Client’s Failure To Pay Cost Awarded By Court

A young lawyer by the name Mgbowaji Kelvin Benson Esq, ( a.k.a M.K. Benson) has been convicted three months imprisonment for what has been described as contempt of Court.

The order was given by the High Court of Rivers State of Nigeria (Port Harcourt division) presided over by Honourable Justice Nwogu.

According to the information gathered by TheNigerialawyer (TNL), the court had awarded a cost of N100,000.00 against Mgbowaji Kelvin Benson Esq’s client on the 20th of June, 2019, when the matter came up for hearing of a Preliminary Objection filed by the 1st defendant’s counsel challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertained the matter, on the ground that parties have not explored arbitration before the matter was brought to court, based on an application for adjournment by the senior to M.K. Benson Esq.

Consequently, the office of M.K Benson Esq., filed a notice of discontinuance on the 12th of July, 2019, in order to explore arbitration. On the 18th of July, 2019, when the matter came up for hearing of the Preliminary Objection, M.K Benson Esq., informed the court of a Notice of Discontinuance filed before the court, but was objected to by the counsel to the 1st defendant on the ground that the claimant has not paid the cost earlier awarded against her.

The court on hearing the objection asked why the cost was yet to be paid. Not being satisfied with the position of the claimant, the court insisted that counsel must pay the N100,000.00 awarded against the client or be committed to prison.

Mr. Benson thereafter applied to go out of the court room as the court was still sitting, in order to call his principal in chambers about the development, but he was refused by the court and detained in the court room. The Court further imprisoned Mr. Benson to three months imprisonment.

TNL gathered that the conviction was made without any initiation of a judgment summons or any formal proceedings.

To confirm the verity of the information, TNL put a call through to Mr. Benson who confirmed the event. According to him, a preliminary objection was raised against them in the suit of which they failed to file their processes in opposition, and that the court on hearing this said that if the claimant should ask for a date of adjournment, cost will be awarded against their client.

This was done being that the claimant insisted on the adjournment. However, on the last adjourned date when a notice of discontinuance was filed, the defendant objected raising the issue of non-payment of cost awarded. The court upon hearing this, asked Mr. Benson who was present in court to pay or be remanded. According to Benson, he only appeared because his principal was not in town.

The Court having stood down the matter, never allowed him to go out to reach his principal through call or any other means possible, instead he tried reaching him via text message which proved abortive. The court thereafter made an order sentencing him to three months imprisonment.

Mr. Benson added that it took the intervention of some members of the Bar, such as the branch’s chairman, Mr. Slyvester N. Adaka, and the branch’s Secretary, Tonye Sipoto-Pepple before he was allowed to go home. However, His Lordship asked him to appear in court and provide the money on the 19th of July, 2019, or he shall issue a bench warrant against him.
“I couldn’t go to the Court because I do not have the money, neither do the client,” he said.

Another source added that the Young Lawyers’ Forum Port Harcourt is not happy with the development. According to the source, a party who wants to enforce non-payment of cost ought to take advantage of the Rules of Court and not for the judge to make order remanding a counsel for failure of his client to pay cost.