Court Stops Afe Babalola, Police From Arresting JNC Limited Staff Over ‘Civil Contract For Supply, Installation Of Medical Equipment’

The Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos on Tuesday restrained the Inspector-General of Police and all police officers in Nigeria from inviting or arresting Directors and members of staff of JNC International Limited over a civil contract for the supply and installation of medical equipment.

Those affected include the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 2 Command, Lagos; Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State, and the Rapid Response Squad, Ekiti State.

The order followed an ex-parte application filed and argued on behalf of the company and its directors by a senior lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegbooruwa (SAN).

Specifically, Justice T. Ringim directed all the parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum before the filing of the case in court pending the hearing and final determination of the Motion on Notice.

Sued as respondents in the suit are the Inspector-General of Police, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, the Commissioner of Police, Ekiti State, the Rapid Response Squad Ekiti State, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti and Aare Afe Babalola (SAN).

In the suit filed on August 8, 2022, the Applicants are seeking amongst others the following reliefs from the court: “A DECLARATION that the 1st – 3rd Respondents are not entitled to arrest, detain or in any other manner restrict the liberties of the 1st – 4th Applicants, in flagrant violation of the 1st – 4th Applicants’ fundamental rights guaranteed under section 35 and 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Articles 6 and 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, CAP 10, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990.

“A DECLARATION that the arrest and detention of the 1st and 2nd Applicant on August 3, 2022, by the 1st – 3rd Respondents, their agents, servants, officers or otherwise, in lieu or in place of Director(s) of JNC International Limited, the 5th Applicant, are unlawful, illegal and constitute a flagrant violation of the 1st and 2nd Applicants’ fundamental rights guaranteed under sections 35, 36, 41 and 46 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Articles 6, 9 & 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and therefore unconstitutional, null and void.

“A DECLARATION that the arrest and detention of the 1st and 2nd Applicants from August 3, 2022 till August 6, 2022, by the 1st – 3rd Respondents, their agents, servants, officers or otherwise constitute a flagrant violation of the 1st and 2nd Applicants’ fundamental rights guaranteed under sections 35, 36, 41 and 46 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and Articles 6, 9 & 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and therefore is illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.

“A DECLARATION that the detention, confinement and incarceration of the 1st and 2nd Applicants from August 3, 2022, till August 6, 2022, by the 1st – 3rd Respondents, their agents, servants, privies, officers or otherwise howsoever without bringing the 1st and 2nd Applicants before a court of law is a clear violation of the 1st and 2nd Applicants’ fundamental human rights guaranteed under section 34, 35, 36, 41 and 46(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and Articles 6, 9 & 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and is therefore illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.”

The Applicants are also seeking among others “AN INJUNCTION restraining the 1st – 3rd Respondents, whether by themselves, their servants, agents, officers or otherwise howsoever from further arrest and detention of the 1st and 2nd Applicants.

“AN INJUNCTION restraining the 1st – 3rd Respondents, whether by themselves, their servants, agents, officers or otherwise howsoever from compelling the 3rd and 4th Applicants, either by the threat of arrest, arrest, detention or prosecution to attend any meeting, interview or honour any invitation whatsoever in any manner hindering the full exercise of the 3rd and 4th Applicants’ personal liberties and fundamental rights as guaranteed under Sections 35, 36 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and Articles 6, 7 and 12 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 on account of the 5th Applicant’s civil transactions/ dispute with the 4th – 5th Respondents.

“AN INJUNCTION restraining the 1st – 3rd Respondents, whether by themselves, agents or servants or otherwise from invading the premises and property of the 5th Applicant at 30, Raymond Njoku Street, Off Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos State, on the behest of the 4th – 5th Respondents.

“AN INJUNCTION, restraining the Respondents whether by themselves, their servants, agents, privies or otherwise howsoever, from enforcing, executing, implementing or in any other manner deploying or giving effect to any and all undertakings, forcefully extracted under duress from the Applicants by the 1st -3rd Respondents at the behest and instigation of the 4th and 5th Respondents in respect of commercial and/ or civil transactions/dispute between the 5th Applicant and the 4th – 5th Respondents.

“AN INJUNCTION restraining the 4th – 5th Respondents whether by themselves or their agents, solicitors or otherwise howsoever from instigating the 1st – 3rd Respondents and any law enforcement agencies in Nigeria against the Applicants in respect the 5th Applicant’s civil transactions/ dispute with the 4th – 5th Respondents.

“ONE BILLION NAIRA ONLY being general, aggravated, special and exceptional damages against the Respondents, jointly and/ or severally for the violation of the fundamental rights of the Applicants.

“ONE HUNDRED MILLION NAIRA ONLY against the 4th – 5th Respondents being the cost of instituting and prosecuting this suit.”

In a 74-paragraph affidavit deposed to by the Managing Director of JNC International, Mrs Clare Omatseye, she narrated how Afe Babalola University approached the company for the supply and installation of medical equipment for the use of the College of Medicine of the University and the said equipment was imported and installed but because the university could not guarantee constant electricity supply to power it, an issue of proper maintenance arose, which the company rose up to and resolved, even at great cost to it.

She stated further that in line with the sale agreement between the parties, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN through his law firm gave the notice to commence arbitration and an arbitrator was indeed appointed, however, the issues were subsequently resolved and the arbitration was called off.

“However, the company was shocked to receive an invitation letter from the Rapid Response Squad of the Ekiti State Police Command at the instigation of Afe Babalola University, leading to the forceful invasion of the company premises by policemen and officers of the university on August 3, 2022, in commando style, whereupon two members of the staff of the company were forcefully driven away from Lagos to Ekiti in the dead of the night.

“On their way to Ekiti, the police convoy ran into armed robbers around 2 am resulting in a fierce shootout and the two members of staff of the company were caught in the firepower and all pleas to allow them to lodge in a hotel in Osun State were rebuffed and they were forcefully driven to Ekiti State and kept in custody at the instigation of Afe Babalola University and Aare Afe Babalola, SAN.

“The police in Ekiti kept the members of staff of the company in custody as a ransom for the appearance of directors of the company and they were told that they would only be released upon the directives of Aare Afe Babalola, until late Saturday, August 6, 2022, when they were eventually released. The company expressed the fear that unless the court intervenes urgently the police will still carry out its threat of invading the office of the company and may arrest and detain its directors upon a purely civil matter for which Aare Afe Babalola, SAN himself had previously initiated arbitration proceedings. The applicants claimed that Aare Afe Babalola, SAN was instigating and using policemen to torment the Applicants and to force them into giving undertakings under duress,” she narrated.

The case was subsequently adjourned to 18th August 2022, for a hearing of the Motion on Notice.