By Our Reporter
The bank accounts of the maker of ALABUKUN pain killer drug, Rotimi Koyejo Odulate, are the subject of litigation at a court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos State. This was contained in a suit filed by lawyers to his former wife, Ms Rihole Odulate, over the failure of her ex-husband to pay for the upkeep of the two children of the marriage as ordered by a UK high court in a case with suit number Case Number: BV20D17396 (dated September 22, 2022) between the same parties.
According to an investigation conducted by our report, the case in Lagos with SUIT NO: LD/080FRJ/2022 was filed on behalf of Ms Rihole by the legal chamber of Ukiri & Lijadu at the court of Hon. Justice K. O. Dawodu of the Lagos State High Court. One of the reliefs the original suit had sought was “AN ORDER of this Honourable Court ordering First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Zenith Bank Nigeria Pic , Guaranty Trust Bank Pic , Sterling Bank Pic , Ecobank
Nigeria Limited , United Bank for Africa Pic , Polaris Bank Limited, Access Bank Pic, Fidelity Bank Pic, Citibank Nigeria Limited, First City Monument Bank Limited, Stanbic IBTC Bank Pic, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited, Union Bank of Nigeria Pic, Unity Bank Pic, Heritage Bank Pic and Wema Bank Pic to provide statements of accounts of the 1St and 2nd Judgment Debtors as 22nd at the date of the Final Order i.e., September 2022 or to answer interrogatories disclosing the financial standing of the Judgment Debtors herein and all the companies listed in this application.
The lawyers also sought “AN ORDER of this Honourable Court granting leave that the Final Order of the Central Family Court, London, England made on 22 nd September 2022 be registered and enforced as a judgment of the High Court of Lagos State pursuant to Section 3(1) of the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Ordinance, Cap 175 , Laws of the Federation of Nigeria and Lagos State, 1958 and Section 81(2), Matrimonial Causes Act , Cap M7, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
“AN ORDER of this Honourable Court ordering the Judgment Debtors to disclose all their sources of income and to file an undertaking in this Honourable Court that they will not deal with or dissipate their assets pending the registration and enforcement of the Final Order dated 22 nd September 2022.”
At the latest hearing in the court of Hon. Justice Dawodu, the justice’s attention was drawn to the fore-stated ex-parte application by Ms Rihole’s lawyers for leave to register and enforce the Final Order of the UK Court even as they sought to move the application. The applicant’s lawyer explained that they sought for hearing of the Judgment Creditor/Petitioner’s ex-parte application dated 16th December 2022 for leave to register the final financial remedies order.
However, counsel to the Judgment Debtor (Odulate) informed the Court that their presence in court was because they believed it was necessary to put all the facts in issue before the Court. They claimed that the suit was an abuse of court process as lawyers to the applicant were trying to register orders of the UK Court which orders, according to them, were subject matter in other suits and in an appeal pending at the Court of Appeal.
Lawyers to the applicant (Ms Rihole) countered by explaining to the Court that the claims by the counsel to Judgment Debtor (Odulate) were not true, but that the orders they sought to register in the suit were separate and distinct from the orders which they sought to register in the other Suit before Hon. Justice Oresanya (referred to by the lawyer to the Judgment Debtor) and in the appeal pending at the Court of Appeal. They also argued that their application was necessary and urgent to prevent the Judgment Debtor from disposing his assets and monies in known bank accounts within the jurisdiction of the Court.
However, the Court was of the view that there was a need to review the processes filed by the Judgment Debtor (Odulate) in order to take a considered decision position on best approach to hear the matter in view of the opposing positions. After hearing submissions from both Parties, the Court declined to fix a date for the hearing of the applications by lawyers to Ms Rihole on the grounds that it had observed that the Suit and the Suit before Hon. Justice Oresanya were in respect of the same English Case Number: BV20D17396. The Court also stated that it would not be proper to have two separate/different courts of the High Court of Lagos State adjudicate over matters in respect of the same English case and the same Parties as that could lead to a case of conflicting judgments/orders of Courts of concurrent jurisdiction.
Lawyers to the applicant however expressed their displeasure regarding the decision to send the case to the court of Hon. Justice Oresanya and promised to contest it.
