A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Monday upturned the election of Ibinabo Fiberesima as President of the Actors’ Guild of Nigeria (AGN).
Justice James Tsoho ruled that the election was conducted against court order and ordered all parties involved to maintain status quo, qed.ng correspondent at the court reports.
The court held that the election was conducted against a clear order of court that parties should maintain status quo.
Justice Tsoho ruled that the Incorporated Trustees of AGN acted with utter impunity in disobeying the clear order of court.
The court held: “It is not in doubt that the parties in this suit are entertainers but the business of court is a serious one and it cannot be turned into a legal play and for this reason, the election is hereby declared null and void.”
Justice Tsoho further ordered Ibinabo to henceforth stop parading herself as the AGN President.
A similar order was given to others who emerged as national officers from the said election that brought her into office.
Justice Tsoho also ordered Ibinabo and all the national officers of her executive to render full account of monies generated by the AGN under her, including details of income and expenditure.
The judge specifically ordered that a comprehensive audit of the accounts of AGN be conducted within 90 days of the date of delivery of the judgment.
The suit that brought about the judgment was filed by an actor, St. Maradona Mikevine.
Mikevine, who was the National Treasurer in an election that produced another popular actor, Emeka Ike as AGN president, had filed the suit to contest Ibinabo’s election.
Mikevine, through his lawyer, Malcom Omirhobo, had contended that the election that brought Ibinabo into office was conducted in the face of a subsisting court order restraining the conduct of an election.
He had urged the court to determine whether it was proper for an election to be conducted in the face of an order to the contrary, and whether anyone could parade himself or herself as AGN executive based on an election conducted against a court order.
The suit that brought about Mikevine’s suit was filed by Emeka Ike on July 25, 2011, while the order which ordered parties to maintain status quo was made on October 26, 2011.
Emeka Ike had filed the suit to contest the formation of an illegal government coined as “National Unity”, to run the affairs of the AGN.
The actor had sought an order of court, reviewing the 2007 Constitution of the guild, as it relates to the tenure of members of the board of trustees.
He averred that the board, comprising Mr Segun Arinze, Prince Ifeanyi Dike, Mr Emmanuel Oguguah, Mr Murphy Stephen, Mr Sunny McDon and Mr Okey McAnthony, had remained in office since July 13, 1999 when the guild was incorporated.
He had therefore, sought for an order, setting aside the appointment of Arinze as president of the guild, as well as an order, reviewing the provisions of the guild’s constitution.
Arinze, who was appointed as president of the National Unity of AGN, handed over to Ibinabo after the conduct of the said disputed election.
But Ibinabo, in her response to the suit, contended that the plaintiff (Mikevine) lacked the locus standi to file the suit, in that he did not contest an election against her.
Ibinabo, who insisted that she was not the one that conducted the election that produced her as president but the AGN board itself, had stressed that Mikevine ought to have channelled his grievance with the election to the Electoral Committee of AGN and not the court.
Justice Tsoho, while delivering judgment in the suit filed by Mikevine, first dismissed the preliminary objection filed by the defendants.
The court held that from the processes before the court, it was clear that the plaintiff (Mikevine) had locus standi to file the suit, in the sense that the identity card of the said plaintiff, which was attached to the suit was not contested by the defendants.
The court further held that the contention of the defendants that the suit ought not to have been filed via originating summons was misplaced, because there was not much contention as to the fact of the case.
In the main judgment, Justice Tsoho overruled the contention of the defendants that necessary parties were not joined and that proper documents were not produced to warrant any favourable judgment.
The judge held that the AGN was a party to the suit, and that by that, the Guild was representing the interest of all members of the association.
On non-provision of proper documents, the court wondered what other documents the defendants were asking for when the enrolled order that was flouted was attached as exhibit as well as the certified true copies of the processes in the suit.
Lawyer to the defendants, Nnaemeka Amaechina, after the judgement, told reporters that he would appeal the decision, and that he was ready to fight till the end within the ambit of law.
He added that a motion to seek a stay of execution of the judgment would also be filed pending the determination of the appeal.
The plaintiff’s lawyer, Omirhobo, told reporters that the defendants were free to appeal the judgment, but that the judgment was clear enough for the wise to know that the order of court could not be treated with disdain.
Both Emeka Ike and Ibinabo Fiberesima were not immediately available for comments as attempts by qed.ng to reach them proved abortive
