A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the immediate arrest of the Executive Director of Finance and Account of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) Plc, Alhaji Shuaibu Maigida, as he has been committed to prison for default, neglect and refusal to comply with the order of the court given on 15 February, 2008.
The court, in its order, directed that the entitlement of one of the ex-staff of the PHCN should be calculated and paid, but the executive director allegedly refused. Consequently, an application was filed before the court by a Lagos lawyer, Mr. King Ola Wilson, on behalf of two children (Divine and Collins) of the deceased PHCN staff, Norl Amadi, but in order to claim their father’s entitlement.
Amadi commenced this suit in consequence of his discharge and acquittal by the Supreme Court of Nigeria on 26 November, 1993 on an alleged complicity in a case of theft.
The case started in 1979 when the plaintiff (now deceased), was arrested and detained, tried and convicted, but successfully appealed to the Court of Appeal and finally the Supreme Court, where he was eventually discharged and acquitted.
Thereafter, when he attempted to return to the service of PHCN, he was not only disallowed, but also denied all his entitlements.
On his quest for justice, he filed this action which was contested by the two parties and judgment was finally given on 24 June, 1999.
Shortly after the judgment, PHCN attempted to appeal by an application filed on 22 September, 1999, but same was struck out on 21 March, 2000 with N1,000 against judgment debtor for want of diligent prosecution and since then, nothing was heard from the power company.
The plaintiff, however, died in November 1999, while the judgment was still subsisting.
When the children waited endlessly and observed that nothing was forthcoming from the judgment debtor and in spite of their repeated demands for payment of the deceased’s entitlements, they sought and procured letters of Administration for the deceased’s estate, consequent upon which they, Divine Emeka Amadi and Collins Amadi, were substituted in place of their late father.
Thereafter, they sought enforcement of judgment through Judgment Enforcement Procedure Rules for an order directing the company to calculate the original plaintiff’s entitlement according to the court’s judgment and pay same forthwith on 15 February, 2005.
The judgement order was communicated to the company and acknowledged but the respondent refused, which necessitated and order committing Alhaji Shuaibu Maigida to prison.
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