First Bank challenges court ruling threatening to jail its chairman, MD

First Bank Plc says it has instructed its lawyers to challenge the court decision that convicted two of its senior staff for contempt of court.

According to the bank, it was not a party to the suit, and an earlier order of Honourable Justice I.N Buba “in respect of which His Lordship has now committed the Board Members of FirstBank for contempt”.

It would be recalled that a Federal High Court in Lagos presided over by Justice Buba, had last week convicted the duo of Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Ibukun Awosika, and the Managing Director, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, of contempt, and also threatened to jail both of them, if they failed to purge themselves of the contempt by September 6, 2018.

But the bank in a statement on Monday, narrated an intricate web of legal maneuvers in respect of what transpired in the a case between Chief Isaac Osaro Agbara and others on behalf of the Ejama-Ebubu community in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State versus Shell Petroleum Development Ltd, Shell International Petroleum Ltd and Shell International Exploration and Production BV.

The bank lamented, that “His Lordship’s earlier orders did not direct either FirstBank or its Board members to perform any obligation, neither did it impose any task on FirstBank, suffice to say that FirstBank did not and could not have disobeyed any order made by Honourable Justice I.N Buba in Suit No: FHC/PH/CS/231/2001- Chief Isaac Osaro Agbara & 9 Ors. V. Shell Petroleum Development Ltd, Shell International Petroleum Ltd and Shell International Exploration and Production BV (Shell) made on 14th June 2010, since there was no order made against it”.

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While admitting that it provided Bank Guarantee for the plaintiffs (Shell) in the suit, the bank however argued that no law criminalises breach of an undertaking, how much more criminal liability for imprisonment upon such alleged breach”, and that “No liability is due from it to Chief Isaac Agbara & ors. from the Bank Guarantee issued”.

The Bank further stated, “that in respect of the same contempt proceedings in which the Honourable Justice Buba has convicted its officials, garnishee proceedings for the enforcement of the same judgment are pending before the same Buba J., which he has adjourned to 19th June 2018”.

The Bank asserted, that it “respects the judiciary; as such, it has instructed its counsel to take all the constitutional steps with immediate effect to challenge the decision of Buba J. to the Court of Appeal”, even as it claims that, “the Bank is not aware and has not been advised as to the provision of any law in Nigeria which allows the use of criminal contempt to enforce monetary judgements or obligations”.

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