Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has responded to
the alleged ‘campaign of calumny against Mrs Dame Patience Jonathan’ by
asking the Federal High Court to “dismiss her suit with substantial cost.”
Mrs Jonathan and her group Union of Niger Delta Youth Organization for
Equity, Justice and Good Governance had accused SERAP in suit number
FHC/L/CS/1349/2016 dated 6th October 2016 of “using online, print and
electronic media to publish to the public unfounded and malicious
allegations that she stole $15m (US) and ought to be prosecuted.”
But SERAP in a preliminary objection dated 27 October 2016 and signed by
its executive director Adetokunbo Mumuni stated that, “Patience Jonathan’s
claims cannot be maintained because they are brought on her behalf by a
group that is unknown to law. Mrs Jonathan’s group is not a registered
organization envisaged by law. This very point calls into question the
legal capacity to file this suit against SERAP, and the jurisdiction of
the court to entertain her suit.”
When the case came up for hearing before Justice C.M.A Olatoregun on
Friday 28 October 2016 SERAP was represented by its lawyer Babatunde
Ogala, former Chairman of the Lagos State House of Assembly’s Committee on
Judiciary.
SERAP’s preliminary objections read in part: “Since the process of court
has not been used bonafide and properly it is unnecessary to consider
whether or not there is a genuine case on the merits. An abuse of court
process is not the specie of sins called an irregularity. It is a much
more fundamental vice which is deserving of the punishment of dismissal.”
“The suit as constituted discloses no reasonable cause of action against
SERAP and as such unmaintainable. Mrs Jonathan and her group cannot and
has not articulated what legal wrong SERAP has done or what legal dispute
they have with SERAP. They have not shown that the matter is justiciable
and that a dispute exists between them and SERAP. Mrs Jonathan’s case
against SERAP is therefore a flagrant abuse of court process and as such
must be dismissed.”
“The commencement of this suit through Originating Summons by Mrs Jonathan
and her group is wrong and faulty. Originating Summons is absolutely
inappropriate to commence an action where the facts are in dispute. It is
evident from the processes filed by Mrs Jonathan and her group that this
suit will definitely be disputed by SERAP.”
“No stamp and/or seal of the solicitors to Mrs Jonathan and her group is
fixed to the Originating Summons and as such is incompetent and not
cognizable by the court. A document filed shall be deemed not properly
signed or filed if it has no fixing of the seal and stamp, and the court
cannot consider such document.”
It would be recalled that one Union of Niger Delta Youth Organization for
Equity, Justice and Good Governance suing for themselves and on behalf of
Mrs Dame Patience Jonathan had sued SERAP on 6th October 2016 before the
Federal High Court in Lagos.
Mrs Jonathan and her group had asked the court for “an order of interim
injunction restraining SERAP from taking any further steps in further
vilification, condemnation and conviction of the Former First Lady Mrs
Dame Patience Jonathan, in all public media and in the use of the judicial
process for that purpose by the extremely publicized pursuit of any
application for the coercion of the Attorney General of the Federation to
prosecute the Plaintiff/Applicant for owning legitimate private property,
pending the hearing and determination of the Originating Summons.”
The suit is also seeking “an order directing SERAP to stay all action and
to desist forthwith from proceeding against Mrs Dame Patience Jonathan,
with any process whatsoever, pending the hearing and determination of the
Originating Summons.
The suit by Mrs Jonathan and her group also claimed that, “The campaign by
SERAP is in breach of Mrs Jonathan’s right to be presumed innocent until
proved guilty under Section 36(5) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as
amended). The action by SERAP seeks to coerce the Attorney General of the
Federation to embark on a breach of the same right when the Attorney
General is in a better position than SERAP and the Court to know whether
or not there is any evidence of wrongdoing by Mrs Jonathan.”
“SERAP’s action is blatant misuse of the processes of this Court. SERAP
therefore no longer deserves to continue as an incorporated entity and
ought to be dissolved. It is just and equitable to dissolve SERAP in the
circumstances of this case. Damages will not be adequate compensation for
the irreparable damage Mrs Jonathan will suffer if the application is not
granted. The Plaintiff undertakes as to damages in favour of SERAP in the
event the instant application ought not to have been granted.”
“There has been a running battle between the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) and Mrs Jonathan with respect to the release of her
legitimately earned funds which were deposited in accounts opened in the
names of certain companies by one of her husband’s aides without her
authorization.”
“The funds in question were legitimate gifts from her friends and
well-wishers over the last 15 years which she had been saving in order to
utilize to upgrade family businesses and concerns which had been somewhat
dormant by reason of the long period of her husband service as a public
officer in Nigeria.”
“The gifts were given in small contributions by several persons some of
whom she cannot even now recall over this period of 15 years sometimes in
as small a gift as N250,000 Naira. In order to preserve the value of these
funds which she did not require for any purpose at the time she changed
them into foreign exchange and kept them as cash for a long period in her
home safe in Port Harcourt and Abuja.”
“It was when the family home in Otuoke was burnt down by hoodlums under
the instigation of political adversaries in 2010 that she began to think
about banking these gifts which had now grown to large sums in United
States Dollars. In 2010 she therefore summoned one of her husband’s
domestic aids, Waripamo-Owei Emmanuel Dudafa to assist her in opening bank
accounts into which the funds could be deposited.”
“Unknown to her the said Dudafa in a bid to be discreet about the owner of
the funds decided to bank the funds in the names of companies owned by
him. When she discovered this she was constrained to continue with the
names of the companies when she was advised that it did not make any
difference as to the ownership of the funds since the director of the
company would appoint her as sole signatory to the accounts in question.”
“When in 2016 Dudafa was arrested and detained she had no fear for the
funds as she realized that the funds could not be attributable to him once
it was discovered that she was the sole signatory to the said accounts. It
was therefore a rude shock to her when she discovered that a no
transaction order had been placed on the accounts by the EFCC in the
belief that the funds belonged to Dudafa.”
“She instructed her solicitors to further write to the EFCC to inform them
that the funds belong to her and that they formed a part of her legitimate
earnings over the last 15 years. It was this letter that was leaked by the
EFCC to the media that became sensationalized and led to the plaintiff’s
vilification and attack by ignorant persons who had no information about
the matter.”
“SERAP is playing to the public gallery in order to gain the notoriety it
has achieved over the past years. SERAP has done this mostly by
intervening in high profile issues without regard to the rights of persons
it claims to protect. SERAP jumped into the fray of ignorant accusations
being made against Mrs Dame Patience Jonathan in the public media and has
begun a campaign of calumny against her using online, print and electronic
media to publish to the public unfounded and malicious allegations that
she stole the funds in question and ought to be prosecuted.”
“SERAP has maintained this position, notwithstanding the fact that there
is no evidence whatsoever by which Mrs Jonathan could be prosecuted for
obtaining the funds through unlawful means. In furtherance of this
campaign, SERAP, being in breach of its own objects for which it was
incorporated, has continued to proclaim the guilt of Mrs Jonathan in the
media and recently was widely reported in the news media to have commenced
a self-serving action to attempt to coerce the Attorney General of the
Federation to prosecute her.”