Court adjourns till March 30 to rule on Seplat CEO’s suspension

*Mr. Roger Brown

(Nigeria) A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, on Thursday, adjourned till March 30, 2023, to rule on several applications challenging the suspension of the Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of Seplat Energy PLC, Mr. Roger Brown, from parading himself as the CEO of the company.

Trial judge, Justice Chukwuejekwu Aneke adjourned for ruling, after hearing applications seeking to vacate the ex-parte order and to strike out the suit by counsel to the respondents.

The court had on March 8, restrained Roger from parading himself as the CEO of the company pending the determination of a suit instituted against him and others by some aggrieved stakeholders of the company over allegations of racism, favouring of expatriate workers, discrimination against Nigerians, and breach of good governance.

The court made order while ruling on a motion ex parte by Jeph Njikonye, SAN, on behalf of some aggrieved stakeholders of Seplat.

The aggrieved stakeholders, who are petitioners/applicants in the suit marked FHC/L/402/2023, are: Moses Igbrude, Sarat Kudaisi, Kenneth Nnabike, Ajani Abidoye, and Robert Ibekwe. While Seplat Energy Plc, Mr. Roger Brown, and Mr. Basil Omiyi, were listed as respondents.

Similarly, Justice Aneke in a separate ex- parte application, granted the petitioners leave to serve the petition, any order of court and all other processes to be issued subsequently in the matter on Brown and Omiyi by pasting in the premises of Seplat Energy located at Ikoyi, Lagos.

At the resumed hearing in the matter on Thursday, Njikonye, appeared for the aggrieved shareholders, Bode Olanipekun, SAN, for Seplat Energy, Mathew Burkaa, SAN, for Roger Brown, while Uzoma Azikiwe, SAN, appeared for Basil Omiyi, Board Chairman, Seplat).

Njikonye told the court that there were several applications before the court, submitting that his application for interlocutory injunction for joinder should be heard first before applications seeking to discharge the ex parte order made by the court.

He argued that by the nature of the suit and by virtue of Order 29 Rule 1A of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, the application for joinder takes preeminence above other applications.  

However, counsel to the first respondent, Olanipekun opposed the application, arguing that the ex-parte order granted by the court affected many other people who are not parties before the court.

He argued that those who are not parties have come to challenge the order, adding that the application for joinder is not ripe for hearing.

Counsel to other respondents aligned with submissions of Olanipekun, and urged the court to hear the application for setting aside the ex parte order made on March 8, 2023.

Justice Aneke in a short ruling held that the application for interlocutory injunction was not ripe for hearing, and called on counsel to the respondents to move their applications.

The aggrieved shareholders had in their motion, prayed the court for a declaration that the affairs of Seplat have been conducted in a manner that is illegal, oppressive and unfairly prejudicial to the petitioners and other members of Seplat and in total disregard to the interest of the petitioners, other employees, and Seplat as a whole.

They equally seek a declaration that by condoning the unlawful, discriminatory, and abusive conducts of the CEO, Roger Brown, the Board Chairman, Basil Omiyi, and the Non-executive Directors have “failed in the discharge of their duties and are unfit to continue to function in the Board of Directors of Seplat.