The FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, and other parties were the subject of contempt proceedings by the National Industrial Court in Abuja on Wednesday due to their alleged disobedience of many court directives.
This happened as a result of the Minister’s decision to name the Managing Director of Abuja Markets Management Limited (AMML) among the heads of the agencies that were disbanded on September 27.
According to reports, Wike sacked the positions of 21 parastatals, agencies, and government businesses under the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) on September 27 in a statement. AMML was among the 21 parastatals that were affected.
Abubakar filed a contempt charge against the FCTA, AMML, and Abuja Investments Company Limited (AICL), listing them as the second through fourth defendants, respectively. Yakubu Abbas, the former acting MD of AMML, was among the defendants.
The application was submitted on November 3 under the cover sheet NICN/ABJ/62/2023, with the heading “Notice of Consequences of Disobedience to Order of Court.”
It was brought in accordance with Order IX Rules 1-3 of the Judgment Enforcement Rules, Section 72 of the Sheriff and Civil Process Act of 2004, and the court’s inherent authority.
“Take notice that you (the defendants) will be guilty of contempt of court and will be liable to be committed to prison unless you (the defendants) obey the orders and directions contained in the judgment of the court on July 20 and the order of this Honourable Court made on July 26,” the motion states.
According to reports, Abubakar’s attorney, Faruk Khamagam, wrote to Wike on September 28 after the dissolution to apprise him of the unusual circumstances surrounding the agency’s leadership and the legal battle that preceded his nomination as minister.
In the letter, Khamagam provided Wike with a list of court rulings that upheld Abubakar’s position as the substantive MD of AMML.
The accusation that the minister and others were operating in violation of the industrial court’s July 20 orders prohibiting them from carrying out the alleged letter terminating Abubakar’s job as the MD of the AMML was the basis for the contempt case.
Judge R.B. Haastrup had ordered the defendants to hold off on implementing the letter they had sent on July 17 terminating Abubakar Usman Faruk’s employment as the M.D. of AMML until after the opposing motion had been heard and decided.
The judge further directed the defendants to maintain the status quo ante until the parallel move on notice was heard and decided, and to refrain from interfering in any manner with the management, business, or corporate operations of the AMML.
Additionally, it was reported that on July 10, Justice Donatus Okorowo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, restrained the FCT Minister, the FCTA, and others in the suit bearing the case number: FHC/ABJ/CS/499/2023 from dissolving and reconstituting the AMML Board by political fiat or press release, without first adhering to the CAMA, 2020 procedure.
The court upheld Abubakar’s appointment as AMML’s MD and stated that doing so is outside the authority of the FCTA and the FCT Minister.
In addition to claiming that Abbas had been passing himself off as the acting MD of AMML against legitimate court decisions and judgments, Khamagam noted that the AICL and FCTA had persisted in their demand to terminate Abubakar’s employment, as stated in their letter dated July 17.
“Engr. Yakubu Abbas himself has been parading himself as the acting MD of AMML and has been signing and issuing documents in that capacity, in the name of AMML from unknown locations,” he stated.
On Monday, police officers from several commands allegedly attacked the AMML main office in Gudu, following orders from the FCT Commissioner of Police, according to Mr. Felix Edache, the AMML Legal Adviser and Secretary.
DSP Bello Adamu headed the cops, according to Edache, who stated their deployment’s goals were worker safety and tranquility.
“When I went back, I noticed that there were a ton of armed police officers around.
“When I arrived to the office, I was informed that they were there to make sure everything was secure. However, I informed them that I did not know of any police complaints that AMML had filed in relation to that matter.
“To be honest, I should have been the one to file the complaint if there was one,” he remarked.
The true agenda, he claimed, was revealed later that night when they presented a memo from the FCTA, allegedly on behalf of the FCT Minister and signed by General Counsel Salman Dako, requesting that the CP stop the MD, Abubakar, and the Legal Adviser from entering the office.
“Although the note from Dako said that the request was made due to Abubakar’s employment termination, it did not specify why the police were being called to stop me from going into the office.
We abide by the law as citizens. We won’t ever take any action to break the law.But every legal weapon at our disposal would be used to oppose any attempt to violate our rights.
It is time for the Minister to reevaluate the work that his ministry’s legal staff has done to ensure that he is not duped into breaking the law, which he also vowed to uphold in his capacity as a public servant and lawyer.
“I hope the minister will take appropriate action,” he remarked.