Court rules on Oyedepo’s N9b suit Mar 25

JUSTICE Mohammed Yunusa of the Federal High Court, Lagos has slated March 25, 2015 to rule on the preliminary objection filed by the Founder, Living Faith Church, popularly known as Winners’ Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo.

    Oyedepo is challenging the suit filed against his firms by a stock brokerage firm, Valueline Securities and Investment Limited and its Managing Director, Samuel Enyinnaya on the accusation of breach of contract.

    The plaintiffs are seeking, among others, monetary claims in the sum of about N1.86 billion from Oyedepo, his family, his book publishing company and the Winners’ Chapel for allegedly breaching agreement on a N9 billion investment entrusted to the plaintiffs.

    Also sued together with Oyedepo is the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), which the plaintiff accused of bias in its investigations into the N9bn business dispute.

    The plaintiffs asked the court to declare as illegal the freezing of their bank accounts by NSE and to make an order to immediately unfreeze their accounts.

    At the resumed hearing into the case Monday, Oyedepo’s counsel, Mr. Chioma Okwuanyi, brought to the court’s notice his client’s preliminary objection to the stockbroker’s claims.

In the three grounds of objection, Okwuanyi contended that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate on a matter pertaining to capital market.

    According to him, by the provisions of Section 34 of the Investment and Securities Act (ISA), only the Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST) is vested with the authority to entertain a dispute between a capital market operator and his client.

Okwuanyi further submitted that if it was true, as the plaintiffs had said that the matter was “a simple contract” bordering on investment portfolio management, the state High Court and not the Federal High Court had jurisdiction on the case.

    Besides, the lawyer argued that the plaintiffs’ suit as presently constituted was premature, as the plaintiff had yet to explore all the avenues laid down to resolve such dispute before heading for the court. 

Meanwhile, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned a lawyer, Babatunde Ojo alongside his company, Amberville Communication Ltd over an alleged N117.3 million fraud ‎before Justice Atinuke Ipaye of a Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja.

Ojo was arraigned on a 48-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretences, forgery and issuance of dud cheque.

 He pleaded not guilty to all the counts read to him.

Justice Ipaye therefore ordered him to be remanded in prison custody and adjourned trial till March 18, 2015.

The EFCC counsel, Mrs. Vera Agboje, said Ojo committed the offences between April 2010 and August 2012 in Lagos adding that‎ defendant obtained the money from one Mr. Matthew Awodiya and his firm, First Hebron Homes and Investment Ltd as part payment to purchase 50 Shops being constructed at Ajah area of Lagos.

Agboje further informed the court that Verod Capital Investment Ltd. was constructing the shops, and that the defendant forged the signature of one Mr. Eric Idiahi to facilitate the fraud.

The defendant was alleged to have issued various Standard Chartered Bank cheques to the complainant, which was dishonoured due to insufficient funds in his account.