Court adjourns ruling on request to vacate order barring Roger Brown as Seplat’s CEO

A federal high court in Lagos has adjourned ruling on an application seeking the vacation of an interim ex-parte order restraining Roger Brown from identifying himself as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Seplat Energy Plc.

The court could not also rule on the application to set aside the order restraining Basil Omiyi, Seplat’s board chairman, and all non-executive directors under him from “continuing to run the affairs of Seplat in an illegal, unfair, prejudicial, and oppressive manner pending the hearing and determination of the petitioner’s motion on notice for interlocutory injunction”.

On Thursday, Chukwuejekwu Aneke, the presiding judge, informed parties that the ruling was not ready.

Therefore, Aneke sought consent of counsel to the petitioner and the respondents to deliver the ruling at a later date.

The court adjourned the case till April 6 to rule on all pending applications seeking to vacate the ex-parte order, based on the lawyers’ consent.

TheCable had reported that a federal high court restrained Brown from carrying out his official duties pending the determination of a suit instituted against him.

Some aggrieved stakeholders of the company had accused Brown of racism, favouring of expatriate workers, discrimination against Nigerians, and breach of good governance.

Moses Igbrude, Sarat Kudaisi, Kenneth Nnabike, Ajani Abidoye, and Robert Ibekwe are the defendants in suit no. FHC/L/402/2023 against the respondents, which are Seplat Energy, Brown, and Basil Omiyi, chairman of the company’s board of directors.

Meanwhile, following a separate ex parte application, Aneke equally granted leave to the petitioners to serve the petition, any order of court, and all other processes to be issued subsequently in the matter on Brown and Omiyi “by pasting (sic) in the premises of Seplat Energy located at Ikoyi, Lagos”.

In accordance to the court order, Brown stepped down, delegating his official responsibilities to Samson Ezugworie, chief operating officer of the company.

SEPLAT CHALLENGES SUIT

Following the court order on March 23, Seplat through its counsel, Bode Olanipekun, senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), challenged the interim orders, arguing that they were granted against persons that were not parties to the suit.

Olanipekun said the interim orders of the court had elapsed by the passage of time.

He added that if counsel to the petitioners admits that the interim orders had expired and needs the formal orders of the court to be set aside, the coast would be clear for him to make any further application.

Matthew Burkaa, SAN, on behalf of Brown, aligned with the submissions of Olanipekun.

Aneke, after listening to arguments of all lawyers,  agreed with respondents as well as petitioners that the joinder application was not ripe for hearing.