Steer clear of Obu Mines or face contempt of court charges, BUA warns Dangote Group

BUA Group has given Dangote Group a three-day ultimatum to remove its excavators and trenches which it claims the latter used to block the entrance of Obu Mines or face contempt of court charges.

In a statement by Sunday Ogieva of its corporate communications department, BUA accused Dangote Group of disregarding court orders by placing excavators and creating trenches at the entrance to prevent its vehicles from operating at the mining sites.

“BUA Group is set to institute contempt of court proceedings against Dangote Group, Dangote Cement and two of its employees after the company flouted the recent judgement of the federal high court in Benin which granted BUA the rights to peaceful possession of its Obu Mines Okpella pending the determination of the other two suits before it,” the statement read.

BUA said the federal high court in Benin restrained the police, Dangote Industries and Dangote Cement from interfering with BUA operations at the mining sites, on May 28, 2020.

“However, in total disregard of the judgment of the court and of the rule of law, on June 15, 2020, the Dangote Group commenced excavation and dredging of the access road and surroundings to the mining site, which the court had hitherto restrained it from,” it said.

“Patrick Omokagbor, an employee of the Dangote Group, coordinated the contemptuous act, acting on the instruction of Devakumar Edwin – an Indian and a director of the Dangote Group.

“It is imperative to note that the resort to self-help by the Dangote Group is not a one-off occurrence and is instead a continuous, relentless and incessant endeavour to undermine the judicial process, which BUA has submitted to.”

BUA filed a lawsuit in 2017 after the police disrupted its operations at the mining site claiming the police action was at the behest of Dangote Industries and Dangote Cement.