“Men” from Imo State government house led by “Chinaza Nwaneri” on Friday attacked and abducted four court officials who were on official duty to enforce a lawful order made by the National Industrial Court Nigeria (NICN), Owerri division against Zenith Bank.
Following this unfortunate development, the president of the NICN, Justice Benedict Kanyip ordered immediate and indefinite closure of the Owerri division of the Court, and instructed all staffs of the Court to stay home and away from their duty posts until further notice.
This disclosure was made in a statement made available to reporters in Abuja by the Chief Registrar of the National Industrial Court, Olurotimi Williams Daudu following the ugly development in owerri.
The court official who were abducted on Friday, 3rd June, by these suspected government sponsored tugs were given as Nze Moses, Akoma Jeremiah, Ikedi Amadi and Chima Emeka Ndukwe.
They were said to have gone for the execution of the judgement of the National Industrial Court on the order of the same court in the case with suit number: NICN/OW/16M/2022, between Prince Eze Madumere V Governor of Imo State, Zenith Bank Plc, the Attorney General of Imo state and the Imo state government.
THE COURT ORDER
The National Industrial Court had on Wednesday the 1st of June, 2022, granted a former Deputy Governor of Imo State, Prince Eze Madumere, who is a judgment creditor in the suite, the leave to enforce the garnishee order absolute, which was made on the 27th of May, 2022, against the garnishee bank (Zenith Bank Plc).
The order was granted for the sealing off all the Zenith bank premises in Owerri, Imo state.
The court order was also to the effect that Zenith bank should within 72 hours from the date of the pronouncement of the order, pay the sum of N1.9 billion judgment debt to Prince Eze Madumere, the judgement credit in the suite.
Following this court order, the branches of Zenith Bank were sealed by the court officials on Thursday, the day after the order was made by the court. The court seals were however reportedly removed by these same tugs, who were reportedly acting with the support of the State government.
On returning to replace these court seals on Friday the court officials were attacked and abducted by these tugs.
NOTABLE QUOTES
The Nigeria Industry Court`s order reads in part: “It is hereby ordered as follows; the Order Nisi made on 15 October 2021 is hereby made an Absolute against the Garnishee this 27/5/2022.
“The Garnishee, (a new generation bank) is ordered to transfer the sum of 1,970,666,584.68k only into the Judgment Creditor’s Counsel account (GTB Bank Plc, Account no. 0223523624, A/C name: M/s Njemanze & Njemanze) forthwith within 24 hours of this order absolute. The Garnishee shall upon compliance with this Order be discharged from these garnishee proceedings.”
A petition written to the Inspector General of Police, on the same day over the incident partly reads:
The court officials were “waylaid, abducted and the court’s official vehicle snatched at gunpoints, to an unknown destination, in broad daylight, by several men of the Government House reportedly led by on Chinaza Nwaneri and some other heavily armed Mopol policemen.
“A frantic and immediate search was initiated by the registrar who later discovered that the four men above, were whisked to the anti-kidnapping unit of the police command and detained unlawfully and without justifiable cause,” the letter reads.
In reaction, the Imo State Commissioner for Information and strategy, Declan Emelumba, said:
“We have appealed against the judgment. There is no how he could be owed N1.9 billion putting all his allowances together. Secondly, the government suspects that there is a conspiracy because the judge who gave the judgment even barred the government from appealing. We have never seen this kind of thing before. However, we have appealed the judgment.”
BACKGROUND
The judgement creditor, Prince Madumere was a former Deputy Governor in Imo State under the government of former Governor Rochas Okorocha. He was removed from office under controversial circumstances and with the support of his boss, the governor.
He challenged this in court under Justice Benjamin Iheka, who on 25th September 2018, declared his purported impeachment null and void and of no effect.
Consequently, he returned to court in 2019, to recover his arrears of unpaid entitlements and emoluments.
The National Industrial Court in 2021, after his tenure with Rochas had expired, granted the prayers of the former deputy governor and ordered the Imo State government now under Governor Hope Uzodimma to pay his accumulated emoluments.
