Alleged Contempt: Court Summons Lagos AG, LASTMA Boss

A Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, presided over by Justice Tijjani Ringim, has issued a directive that the Attorney-General of Lagos State, the state’s Transport Commissioner, and the Head of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, should appear before him over alleged continuous disobedience to two orders of the court.

The court also ordered an official of LASTMA, Mr I. A. James, to appear before it.

Justice Ringim decided after entertaining arguments from Adeniyi Komolafe, who moved an application to commit them to prison for wilfully disobeying two orders of the court in the suit numbered FHC/L/CS/653/2011 and FHC/L/CS/83/12, made by Justice Okon E. Abang and Justice John T. Tsoho, respectively, in a legal offensive initiated against the alleged contemnors by Mr Jonathan Ademola Odutola, whose two vehicles were illegally confiscated.

However, due to the alleged contemnors’ wilful disobedience to the two court orders, the judgment creditor, Odutola, through his lawyer, Komolafe, had filed Form 49.

Moving form 49 before the judge, Komolafe hinted to the court that the application to commit the alleged contemnors to prison was brought pursuant to Section 72 of The Sheriffs And Civil Process Act Cap. S6 Laws Of The Federation Of Nigeria, Order 9 Rule 13 of the Judgment Enforcement Rules and Under the court’s inherent jurisdiction.

The judgment creditor in an affidavit in support of the contempt application deposed to by Azeez Badru, stated that the court in a judgment delivered on September 16, 2011, restrained all the respondents whether by themselves, its servants, agents or otherwise howsoever called from continuing arrest and detention of the plaintiff’s vehicles and further violation on the plaintiffs right to own properties.

After listening to the judgment creditor’s lawyer, Justice Ringim ordered all the alleged contemnors to appear before the court on November 15, 2023, just as he further directed that a hearing notice be issued and served on all the alleged contemnors.