Justice Yetunde Idowu of a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja yesterday ordered the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), to pay the N25million judgment fee awarded against it to popular Yoruba actor and comedian, Babatunde Omidina (Baba Suwe), within 21 days. In her ruling, Justice Idowu declared that: “I grant a conditional Stay of Execution. The N25 million judgment debt should be paid to the Chief Registrar of the Lagos High Court, who will in turn pay it into an interest yielding account of a bank that both parties choose. The money should be paid within 21 days from today”.
Justice Idowu while giving her ruling on an order of Stay of Execution brought to the court on her earlier judgement by the NDLEA said the applicant has not given sufficient proof to show that paying the money will harm its operation in any way, stressing that what is brought is a mere piece of paper that did not show any details of spending and expenditure.
She added that collecting a bank guarantee in lieu of the judgment debt pending appeal means leaving the money with the debtor to do as he wishes until the case is determined.
Speaking to Saturday Mirror in a telephone interview last night, NDLEA spokes person, Mitchell Ofoyeju, said NDLEA lawyers would study the judgement of the court before any step would be taken on the ruling.
It would be recalled that NDLEA, before yesterday’s ruling, had earlier applied to the court for an order of Stay of Execution on her judgment delivered on November 24, 2011 pending the determination of the appeal case filed by the agency on December 6, 2011 against the judgment.
The Director of Prosecution and Legal Services of NDLEA, Mr. Femi Oloruntoba, while moving the application before the court then stated that the agency would be prevented from performing its statutory functions as well prosecute the appeal if it is made to pay the judgment sum of N25 million as it is half of its monthly available resources.
He also asked for any other order that the court deems fit to make in the circumstance while stating that the agency is contesting the judgment in its entirety.
Part of the grounds on which NDLEA based its application for stay of judgment execution include the fact that there exists an appeal and substantial grounds for appeal, that the judgment of the court of appeal will be rendered nugatory if it succeeds, that the court lacks jurisdiction to have adjudicated on the subject matter of proceedings or award damages or make the orders it made.
The other grounds include the fact that NDLEA has shown that impecuniosities or lack of fund will deprive her from prosecuting the appeal and carry out her statutory duties and that Baba Suwe will not be able to refund the judgment sum of N25 million if NDLEA succeeds on appeal.
According to Oloruntoba, the agency does not get N7billion monthly but N52 million monthly which is the total sum of all its activities including investigations and litigations as well as running cost adding that out of the N7billion that they get annually, N633 million goes into workers salary.
Speaking to Saturday Mirror in a telephone interview last night, NDLEA spokes person, Mitchell Ofoyeju, said NDLEA lawyers would study the judgement of the court before any step would be taken on the ruling.
It would be recalled that NDLEA, before yesterday’s ruling, had earlier applied to the court for an order of Stay of Execution on her judgment delivered on November 24, 2011 pending the determination of the appeal case filed by the agency on December 6, 2011 against the judgment.
The Director of Prosecution and Legal Services of NDLEA, Mr. Femi Oloruntoba, while moving the application before the court then stated that the agency would be prevented from performing its statutory functions as well prosecute the appeal if it is made to pay the judgment sum of N25 million as it is half of its monthly available resources.
He also asked for any other order that the court deems fit to make in the circumstance while stating that the agency is contesting the judgment in its entirety.
Part of the grounds on which NDLEA based its application for stay of judgment execution include the fact that there exists an appeal and substantial grounds for appeal, that the judgment of the court of appeal will be rendered nugatory if it succeeds, that the court lacks jurisdiction to have adjudicated on the subject matter of proceedings or award damages or make the orders it made.
The other grounds include the fact that NDLEA has shown that impecuniosities or lack of fund will deprive her from prosecuting the appeal and carry out her statutory duties and that Baba Suwe will not be able to refund the judgment sum of N25 million if NDLEA succeeds on appeal.
According to Oloruntoba, the agency does not get N7billion monthly but N52 million monthly which is the total sum of all its activities including investigations and litigations as well as running cost adding that out of the N7billion that they get annually, N633 million goes into workers salary.
