The Federal High Court in Abuja has relieved a former Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Alex Okoh, of a contempt conviction resulting from the agency’s disobedience to a Supreme Court order.
Donatus Okorowo, the judge, on 5 April, vacated the earlier order issued by Anwuli Chikere (now retired judge of the court) citing Okoh for contempt in December 2019.
Okorowo’s decision reversing Okoh’s conviction followed BPE making a U-turn by committing to comply with the Supreme Court order at the heart of the contempt case.
The Supreme Court had issued the order stopping the BPE and its leadership from further negotiating to sell, transfer or hand over the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON) Ltd, Ikot-Abasi, Akwa Ibom state, to any person in violation of the contract it struck with BFI Group Corporation in the 2000s. But successive Directors-General of BPE had refused to comply with the order.
The disobedience to the Supreme Court order led to BFI group initiating contempt proceedings against the BPE and Okoh.
In its ruling on the contempt charge in December 2019, the Federal High Court in Abuja cited Okoh for contempt and sentenced him to one month in prison.
But following a recent agreement by parties on compliance with the Supreme Court order, Okoh’s lawyer, J.O Adesina, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), on 12 March 2024, filed an application for the reversal of the contempt order against him.
The lawyer prayed the court to discharge the applicant; the BFI Group, represented at the proceedings by Patrick Ikwueto, also a SAN, opted not to object to the request.
In his ruling on 5 April, the judge, Mr Okorowo, said given the agreement between lawyers to the parties, he was inclined to vacate the court’s earlier order citing Okoh for contempt and jailing him for one month.
The judge ordered that the contemnors – Mr Okoh and BPE – must abide by the Supreme Court judgement.
“It is further ordered that in the light of the submission of judgement creditor/respondent counsel and to uphold the majesty of the court in particular, the decision of the apex court (Supreme Court) on the entire judgment that led to the contempt proceedings that BPE is duty bound to continue to fully abide by the order handed down by the Supreme Court in appeal number SC/12/2004 by satisfying the said judgment,” a copy of the enrolled order read in part. (Premium Times)