A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has nullified the purported removal of the Incorporated Trustees of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), declaring the action illegal, null, and void.
Delivering judgment in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1980/2024, Justice Obiora Egwuatu held that the CAC failed to comply with relevant statutory provisions when it altered the registered trustees of the association.
The judge ruled that the CAC acted outside the law when it relied on a resolution passed by the House of Representatives Committee on States and Local Governments to change ALGON’s trustees, emphasizing that ALGON is a private organisation and not bound by such legislative resolutions.
Consequently, the court ordered the immediate reinstatement of the affected trustees: Chukwudi Ezinwa, Gabriel Ugor, Shaban Shuaibu, Benjamin Kure-Solomon, and Sani Hassan, who had sued the CAC through their counsel, Joe Agi, SAN.
Speaking after the ruling, counsel to the plaintiffs, Oladimeji Ekengba, said: “As we speak right now, Honourable Shaban Shuaibu and others, who are the plaintiffs in this case, remain the Incorporated Trustees of ALGON pursuant to the judgment delivered today by Justice Egwuatu.”
In their originating summons, the plaintiffs asked the court to determine whether the CAC’s action, based on the House Committee’s resolution, violated their right to fair hearing as guaranteed under Section 851(4) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 and Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution.
They argued that the CAC had no legal authority to alter their trusteeship status without following the due process stipulated in Sections 834 and 835 of CAMA, including a valid resolution at a general meeting of the association.
Among the reliefs granted, the court issued a perpetual injunction restraining the CAC from tampering with ALGON’s trusteeship unless done in accordance with law. It also directed the commission to cancel the status report issued on August 20, 2024, and revert to the report dated December 12, 2023, which recognised the plaintiffs as the valid trustees.
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