Home News Oil Spill: Ogoni People Ask Court to Commit Emefiele to Prison over N182bn Judgment Debt

Oil Spill: Ogoni People Ask Court to Commit Emefiele to Prison over N182bn Judgment Debt

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A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, has been urged to commit the Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Godwin Emefiele to prison for allegedly disregarding an order of the court that awarded N182 billion to Ogoni people in Rivers State, following the devastating oil spillage from the Shell
Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) pipelines that damaged their community.
 
Specifically, the contempt charge was filed against the governor by counsel to the plaintiffs (Ogoni people), Lucious Nwosu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) for his alleged refusal to order the payment of the said judgment sum to the plaintiffs.

At the commencement of the hearing in the suit, on Wednesday, Nwosu expressed displeasure that Emefiele was not in court to answer  to the contempt charge against him.

The erudite lawyer argued that the charge against Emefiele was semi criminal in nature and required his physical presence at the proceeding before the court.

Responding, Emefiele’s counsel, Damian Dodo told the court that it was not the habit of the CBN governor to underrate any court of law, even as he said that his client would do the right thing at the appropriate time.

Counsel representing SPDC, Olawale Akoni informed the court that he had filed a motion, seeking to dismiss the contempt charge or in the alternative to stay proceedings in the matter after taking arguments.

Justice Taiwo Taiwo, in his ruling, directed Emefiele and other parties to obey the court order and adjourned the matter till January 26,  2021.

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