Court dismisses Rite Foods contempt suit against NBC

Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of a Federal High Court, Lagos, has dismissed the suit filed by Rite Foods Limited against the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) and its Managing Director, Matthieu Seguin, over alleged contempt of court.

The judge held that there was no subsisting order disobeyed by the alleged respondents.

The court, while ruling on committal proceeding, yesterday, dismissed the plaintiff’s application, saying that it lacked merit.
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Justice Lewis-Allagoa said: “This court cannot vacate existing order. The motion filed by the plaintiff is qualified as nullity. A foundation of any committal proceeding is for a valid judgment. Where there is no valid judgment, it cannot be used.”

The judge, therefore, dismissed the suit filed by the Rite Foods Limited. He also awarded a punitive cost of N500,000 each in favour of the respondents.
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