Okereke-Onyiuke: Court suspends judgment on NSE’s request

Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court, Lagos yesterday suspended judgment in a suit by sacked Director-General of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Prof Ndi Okereke-Onyuike, in view of the NSE’s request to file defence in the case.

Okereke-Onyuike is by the suit, contesting her sack last year, by the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) allegedly in connection with the then dwindling fortune of the capital market.

Justice Idris told parties yesterday that he intended to entertain an application by NSE, seeking to either be allowed to file a defence to the case or that the plaintiff be directed to reargue its case.

The judge said he had to abort his scheduled judgment in the case on discovering the NSE’s application.

Lawyer to the NSE, Babatunde Irukera, later moved the application and urged the court to either order that the plaintiff should re-argue the case, or that NSE should be allowed to put in its defence to the suit.

Okereke-Onyiuke’s lawyer, Bode Olanipekun, argued that NSE’s motion was intended to arrest the judgment, and that it had been overtaken by events.

He further stressed that the prayers sought by NSE could not be granted until an earlier proceedings of the court was set aside. He observed that there was no application to that effect.

He urged the court to dismiss the motion and proceed to deliver judgment.

Justice Idris consequently fixed April 4 for ruling on the motion and possible judgment.

Okereke-Onyiuke is contesting her removal on the grounds that she was denied fair hearing and that the action was part of the elaborate design orchestrated by SEC to “humiliate” her.

She urged the court to among others, award N3 billion damages against SEC for her allleged “unlawful removal.”

Source : The Nation