H. R. H. Eze Sir J. E. Ukaobasi V. Berthram Ezimora & Ors (2016)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

TOM SHAIBU YAKUBU, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

The appellant had approached the Anambra State High Court of Justice, holden at Onitsha with a complaint that his fundamental rights as enshrined in Sections 33, 35, 36, 40, 43 and 44 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) had been encroached upon by the Respondents. His Ex parte application was granted on 29th July, 2008.

Consequently, he filed a motion on notice pursuant to Order 1 Rule 2 (1); Order 2 Rule 1 (1) and Order 1 Rule 1 (1) & (2) of the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 1979. Furthermore, the application was anchored on Sections 33, 35, 36, 40, 45, 44, 46 (1) and 6 (6) (A) & (B) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

The appellant, prayed for the following reliefs, to wit:

“1. AN ORDER enforcing the Fundamental rights of the Applicant guaranteed under Sections 33, 35, 36, 40, 43 and 44 of the Constitution of Nigeria, 1990 which rights have been and still being infringed and unless restrained by an Order of this Honourable Court will continue to be violated by the

Respondents use of self-help, thugs and Mobile Police harassments, intimidations, arrests, detention, threats to life, seizures, impoundments and confiscations of movable goods, lock-ups, closures of businesses of the Applicant and or seal-off of the property or Registered Head office of the Applicant?s company at No. 22 Okwei Street, Onitsha on 11th February, 2008 and 11th July, 2008.

2. A DECLARATION that the Respondents use of self-help thugs and Mobile Policemen from the Anambra State Police command to harass, intimidate, arrest, detain and threaten the life of the staff of the Applicant?s company and the Applicant and seize, impound, confiscate the movable goods of the Applicant and or closure, lock-up or seal-off of the property or the registered Head office of the Applicant’s company at No. 22 Okwei Street, Onitsha on 11th February, 2008 and 11th July, 2008 are unlawful, illegal, unconstitutional, arbitrary and violative of the Applicant’s Fundamental rights guaranteed under Sections 33, 35, 36, 40, 43 and 44 of the Constitution of Nigeria, 1999.
3. A DECLARATION that the Respondents has no right to forcefully with the use of the

Police power of arrest, arms and ammunition unlawfully break into the landed, immovable and movable property of the Applicant’s company at No. 22 Okwei Street Onitsha and seal-off the Applicant’s lawful business or seize, impound and confiscate the Applicant’s movable goods the acts of the Respondents were assuming to be and establishing a Court of their own formulation instead of referring same to a Court of law, a fortiori, a rape of rule of law establishing the Applicant’s proprietary rights.

4. AN ORDER OF PERPETUAL INJUNCTION restraining such or similar further infringement of Applicant’s fundamental rights to life, civil liberty, fair hearing, freedom of association and property, and let alone continue to harass, intimidate, arrest, detain, threaten the life of any staff of the Applicant’s company and the Applicant and or seize, impound and confiscate the movable goods of the Applicant and lock-up; or seal-off the property or the registered Head Office of the Applicant’s company and or close-up the lawful business of the Applicant at No. 22 Okwei Street, Onitsha.
5. AN ORDER for payment of the sum of N2, 000,000.00 (TWO MILLION NAIRA) to the

Applicant by the Respondents jointly and severally as special and general damages.

6. AND for such further or other orders as this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstances.

AND TAKE NOTICE that these ORDER(S) are in terms of the reliefs sought in the STATEMENT accompanying the AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT AND OF URGENCY of the Application for LEAVE to apply for the ORDER(S) on the Grounds set out in Paragraph 3 of Copy of the Statement served herewith, used in the Application for the LEAVE to apply for such ORDER(S).

AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that in the said High Court No. 2 by AN ORDER made the 29th day of July 2008 annexed and served herewith directed that the LEAVE granted shall operate as a STAY of all actions or matters relating to or connected with the complaints of the Applicant herein until the determination of the substantive Motion on Notice or until this Court otherwise orders.

The grounds upon which the above reliefs were sought as contained at Paragraph 3 of the Statement of the applicant pursuant to Order 1 Rule 2(3) of the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 1979 were that:

“a. The Applicant is the

alter-ego and Chairman/Managing Director of Jesoj Trading Company Limited, a limited company incorporated under the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 1990 with a registered Head Office at No. 22 Okwei Street, Onitsha.

b. The Applicant’s company is the owner and occupier of property lying situate and known as No. 22 Okwei Street Onitsha fully developed by the Applicant into a five-storey registered Head office complex comprising of warehouses, departments and offices utilized for Applicant’s company’s vast business including importers and exporters and property investments in accordance with its Memorandum and Articles of Association under the Companies Act, 1990.