An appeal filed by the Managing Director of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mr. George Uriesi, at the Court on Appeal, disallowed the trail of contempt failed against him to proceed on Wednesday.
Mr Uriesi had been summoned by Justice Binta Murtala-Nyako to answer the allegations of contempt of court brought against him by Maevis Nigeria Limited, over alleged disobedience of the court’s earlier order which ruled that status quo must be maintained between the two bodies.
The airport authority had recently terminated the concessionaire agreement reached with Maevis on the provision of the Airport Operations Management System (AOMS) platform for the nation’s international airports in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port-Harcourt.
The plaintiff also r argued that “FAAN had violated its right by” engaging in serious and egregious actions which undermined the authority of the court,” culminating in the displacement of Maevis and its staff from their offices at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos and Nnamdi Azikwe Airport, Abuja”.
However, Counsel to FAAN, Mr. Kola Awodein, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), denied that his client Mr Uriesi and others disobeyed the court’s order to maintain status quo.
He explained that the other defenders were not in court, “not out of disobedience, but because they had left the service of FAAN and were probably not aware of the court’s processes.
Meanwhile, the contempt proceedings which was scheduled to be heard could not go on as Mr Awodein informed the court that he had filed two applications at the Court of Appeal which must be decided before the proceedings before Justice Nyako could continue. He therefore asked for a stay of proceedings.
This submission drew stout opposition from the lawyer to Maevis Limited, Prof. Yemi Osibajo (SAN), who insisted that the contempt proceedings must be heard.
Prof Osibajo claimed that “the applications said to have been filed at the Court of Appeal were not valid appeals but a mere ploy to frustrate the hearing of the contempt proceedings.”
After over two hours of arguments, Justice Nyako failed to rule on whether she would stay further hearing of the matter or not.
She adjourned till the 23rd of April.