The Federal High Court Sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos has struck out the suit filed by the former Executive Director of the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), Dr Godwin Uyi Ojo, against ex-chairman of the organisation, Nnimmo Bassey, and the Board of Trustees of the Environmental Rights Development Foundation challenging his removal as Secretary in 2015.
Ojo, who was removed as Executive Director of ERA/FoEN by the board on October 3, 2020, did not contest the decision of the Board relieving him as Executive Director, but instead approached the court to declare his 2015 ouster as secretary of the board illegal.
According to statement issued and made available to The Star on Wednesday by the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Environmental Rights Development Foundation, Prof. Margaret Okorodudu-Fubara, in April 2022, counsel to Nnimmo Bassey had sought pleadings of both parties in the matter, but the plaintiff, Godwin Ojo, failed to file any process to the effect until the case was struck out by the court on June 9, 2022.
The presiding judge, Justice A. Lewis-Allagoa, struck out the case on the grounds that the plaintiff failed to show sufficient seriousness consequent upon which the case was disposed of.
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Ojo was also ordered to pay the sum of N50,000 as cost awarded in favour of the first defendant.
It would be recalled that at its emergency board meeting held on October 3, 2020, to discuss the report of an independent Evaluation of ERA/FoEN, the board resolved that the services of Ojo were no longer required as his appointment as the Executive Director was terminated with effect from October 3, 2020.
The evaluation report which was adopted by the board for full implementation resolved that Ojo who is “by nature of the position of executive director ultimately responsible for the day-to-day functioning of the organization and staff management is out of his depth, lacking both leadership and management sufficient to the task.”
The board subsequently prohibited him from parading himself in any manner as representative of the organisation or in any capacity as ERA/FoEN Executive Director and took a decision to replace him with Barr. Chima Williams, the current Executive Director.
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