Justice Ambros Lewis-Allagoa of a Federal High Court, last week October 16 dismissed a suit filed by the Registered Trustees of Auto Spare Parts & Machinery Dealers Association- ASPAMDA against the Attorney-General of Lagos State and the Nigeria’s Inspector-General of Police (IGP).
The judge dismissed the suit for being abuse of Court process.
The Trustees through their lawyer, A. Yekeen, asked the court for several reliefs which include: “a declaration that by virtue of Section 5(2) a and b of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended), Sections 827 and 836 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020, the Lagos State Government lacks the power to interfere in whatsoever manner in the management of the affairs of the Applicant’s Association.
“A declaration that it is ultra vires for the 1st respondent to act or rely on the purported legal advice from the office of the 2nd respondent to either dissolve or remove the officers (Executive Council) of the applicant.”
In urging the court to dismiss the suit, Barrister E. O Akande, a Director in the Ministry of Justice, who led A. O. Sogbesan, representing Lagos State Attorney-General and Barrister Morufu Animashaun, a Legal Officer at the Force Criminal Investigation Department ForceCID Annex Alagbon-Ikoyi, who represented the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), informed the court that applicant’s suit was a ‘gross abuse of Court processes’.
In establishing his argument, both Akande and Animashaun cited several suits involving the same parties and subject matters, which includes: “LD/2588 GCM/2018; CA/L/1513/2018; FHC/L/CS/672/2020; FHC/L/CS/1548/2021 and another pending at Supreme Court.
He therefore urged the court to dismiss with substantial cost for lack of Jurisdiction, prima facie vexatious and abuse of Court process.
Giving verdict to the suit, Justice Lewis-Allagoa held that: “….. the crux of the Plaintiff’s claim rests on the contest of the leadership of the Registered Trustees of Auto Spare Parts and Machinery Dealers Association (ASPMDA).
“…. it revolves around the same issues. And it does not matter if different parties initiated those other suits, i.e. LD/2588 GCM/2018 CA/L/1513/2018, FHC/L/CS/672/2020, FHC/L/CS/1548/2021. The issues are the same (the Leadership of the Association). All the parties are members of that Association; the present action is an improper use of judicial process.
“The Law is that where two actions are instituted in court, the second one asking for relief which may have been obtained in the first, the second action is vexatious and an abuse of Court process.
“The Law is that where a suit is an abuse of process, the proper order to be made is one dismissing the process which constitutes an abuse.
“Having found that the present action is an abuse of Court process, the suit is accordingly dismissed.”
The judge also awarded a cost of N200, 000, against the applicant in favour of both Attorney-General of Lagos State and the Inspector-General of Police.
