A LAGOS High Court sitting in Ikeja yesterday ordered the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), to pay N25million to popular actor, Babatunde Omidina (aka Baba Suwe) within 21 days in fulfilment of the judgment fee awarded against it.
Justice Yetunde Idowu granted a conditional stay of execution with an order that the N25 million judgment debt 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.
Justice Idowu added that, “The applicant has not given sufficient proof to show that paying the money will harm its operation in any way. 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 is the same as leaving the money with the debtor to do as he wishes.
Earlier, the NDLEA had 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 filed by the agency on December 6, 2011 against the judgment.
The agency’s Director of Prosecution and Legal services, Mr. Femi Oloruntoba, while moving the application before the court then stated that the agency will be prevented from performing its statutory functions or prosecute the appeal if it is made to pay the judgment sum of N25 million which 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 prevent it from prosecuting the appeal and carry out its 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 which is the total sum of all its activities, including investigations and litigations as well as running cost. He added that out of the N7billion that they get annually, N633 million goes into workers salary.
On the issue of apology, NDLEA states that if it is made to publish an apology to the respondent in two national dailies as ordered by the court, the apology cannot be retracted if the appeal succeeds, adding that it’s right to appeal will be highly prejudiced.