By Our Reporter
A Federal High Court judge in Lagos has refused to reverse a court warrant he issued in a case involving former Mrs Rihole Odulate, mother of two and ex-wife of the maker of ALABUKUN pain killer drug, Mr Koye Odulate. This was the outcome of the latest proceedings on the matter in the court of Honourable Justice D.E. Osiagor in Lagos.
Federal High Court, Lagos.
Lawyers to Ms Rihole, Templars, Lagos, approached the court after the police served a court warrant purporting to be the document legitimizing the seizure of two properties belonging to their client. Part of the lawyers’ arguments was that the police had actually seized the properties several months before they applied for a court warrant and as such the measure taken was illegal and the court warrant issued was based on “one-sided information.” The lawyers notified the court that back in January 2023, the police had seized one of the properties belonging to Ms Rihole only for them to obtain a warrant on May 26th, 2023 to legalise their initial misstep. However, in the court warrant another property was added.
Recall Elrufai News Magazine (ENM) reported in January that less than 24 hours after the court of Justice Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on January 18th, 2023, reiterated an existing order restraining all parties from taking further actions in a case of harassment filed against the police and Mr Odulate, the police led by one CSP Chinedu of the Police Monitoring Unit sealed off the property of Ms Rihole at Lekki, Lagos.
In the suit Number FHC/L/CS.851/2022 and heard earlier on January 18th, 2023 in the court presided over by Justice Allagoa, Lagos, Ms Rihole’s lawyers alleged that Mr Odulate had been instigating the Nigeria Police to harass their client and her siblings. Less than 24 hours later, the police sealed off the property of Mr Rihole at Lekki Lagos. This was in breach of an existing court order issued back in August 2022 by Honourable Justice Akintayo Aluko, that all parties in the case should maintain status quo. Lawyers to Ms Rihole had since brought this breach to the attention of Justice Allagoa in January 2022. But the police had continued to harass Ms Rihole and members of her family from way back in 2022 and into 2023, using the service of Interpol as well.
Lawyers to Ms Rihole also explained the fact that the second property that the police included in the warrant was purchased by the father of their client some twenty years before she got married to Mr Odulate. The dates on the documents of the property and those on the court papers submitted by lawyers to Mr Odulate, according to lawyers to Ms Rihole, were therefore a clear evidence that Mr Odulate could not legally lay claim to the property and therefore the police had no legal basis to seize it.
Through the court warrant obtained on May 26th, 2023, and bearing the signatures of J.O. Agbo, Principal Executive Officer, J.M. Ogedengbe, Registrar, and that of Honourable Justice Osiagor all of the Federal High Court Ikoyi, Lagos, in Suit Number FCH/L/242/C/2022, the police went ahead to justify an action they took in January 2023 long before they obtained the required warrant.
Lawyers to Ms Rihole have argued that this situation makes any such seizure illegal as it was contrary to law. More shocking was the fact that the request for a court warrant by the police was brought before the court of Justice Osiagor by the police lawyer, Mr M.A. Animashaun, who was fully aware of the subsisting order of status quo issued by Justice Aluko since August 2022.
At the root of the case is a divorce suit heard in a UK court in which Mr Odulate was ordered to pay for the upkeep of the two children of his marriage to Ms Rihole. Lawyers to the ex-wife have since alleged that Mr Odulate went to court to ensure that the UK court order was not effected by making false allegations that his ex-wife took funds from two companies, one of which they were both co-founders and co-owners. The lawyers further alleged that it was on the basis of this that Mr Odulate instigated the police to institute criminal action against his ex-wife; but the police have not been able to prove any of the allegations of fraud they made so far. In fact, as the lawyers explained in court, almost two years after the police began to arrest members of Ms Rihole’s family, detaining them and seizing her properties, the best the police could say was that they were still investigating.
At the latest hearing, Justice Osiagor rejected the pleas of lawyers to Ms Rihole that he was given one-sided information based on which he issued the warrant and that the action of the police was illegal and as such should be thrown out. While he ruled that the court warrant would stand, Justice Osiagor did not discharge the plea of the lawyers to Ms Rihole that the property purchased by the late father of their client and which she inherited should be returned to her. The court fixed another date to hear this plea.
