The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele has filed an appeal against the ruling of a Federal High Court in Abuja, which compelled him to appear in a $53 million judgment debt suit.
In his notice of appeal, the CBN governor predicated it on three grounds.
He submitted that Justice Inyang Ekwo erred in law and occasioned a miscarriage of justice when he made an order compelling his attendance in court for the $53 million debt without determining one way or the other, his application challenging the jurisdiction of the court.
Justice Inyang Ekwo of the high court had in his ruling last year summoned the CBN governor over his alleged refusal to obey the order of the court for the payment of the judgment debt in favour of a legal practitioner, Joe Agi (SAN).
Although the court had ordered Emefiele to appear before it on January 18 (Wednesday), proceedings could not go on as scheduled, subsequently leading to an adjourned date of March 20.
The CBN governor told the appellate court that the appeals marked CA/A/476/2018 between CBN V Joe Agi (SAN), and two others and CA/A/23/2020 between CBN V Joe Agi (SAN) and two others which were appeals against the judgment sought to be enforced by the judgment summons had been entered before the Court of Appeal.
In the appeal filed on January 13, 2023, Emefiele through his lawyer, Damien Dodo, observed that the proceedings to compel his appearance after appeals had been entered, placed the trial court in a position where it is exercising concurrent jurisdiction with the Court of Appeal over the same subject matter.
He also submitted that the trial judge erred in law which occasioned a miscarriage of justice
He also drew the attention of the appellate court to his application filed on January 27, 2020, challenging the jurisdiction of the court as well as the service of forms 13 and 15 on him for non-compliance with the mandatory provisions of section 56, part IV, of the Sheriff and Civil Process Act.
Emefiele submitted that on February 22, 2022, the appellants jointly filed an application seeking a setting aside of the issuance and service of forms 13 and 15 on him, on the basis that the same ought not to have been issued during the pendency of the two mentioned appeals and the pending motions on notice for a stay of execution dated March 26, 2018, and July 11, 2019, respectively.
The appellant further contended that the lower court erred in law occasioning a miscarriage of justice when it made an order compelling his appearance in court on January 18, 2023, when he is not a party to the suit before it.
He, therefore, prayed the appellate court to allow his appeal and set aside the orders made by the Federal High Court.
