Despite an appeal against the ruling delivered by Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa today, men of the Nigeria Police, Zone 2 Command, have been accused of executing a purported order of court without the Court Bailiffs.

Men of Nigerian Police Zone 2 Command were also accused of embarking on an execution that court Bailiff are not aware of or part of it.

In the same vain, Stallion Nigeria Limited and it’s sister companies were also accused of resulting into self help by mobilizing the men Zone 2 Command, to carry out an unlawful action by executing an order which have been appealed against.

Court orders and judgements are always been executed by the court’s Bailiffs and any step taken contrary to this is totally unlawful exercise.

It would be recalled that on February 1, 2023, the bailiffs of the Federal High Court delivered possession of the properties and assets of Stallion Nigeria Limited to the Receiver/Manager appointed by GTB  by virtue of the judgement of February 17, 2019.

The sister companies of Stallion, which includes: THP Limited; The Honda Place Limited; Connoisseur Investment Limited; Premium Seafoods Limited and Onward Fisheries Nigeria Limited, filed an application to set aside the execution on some grounds.

Justice Allagoa heard the Application to set aside the execution on February 17, 2023 and delivered ruling on February 20, 2023, setting aside the execution.
However, few minutes after the ruling, GTB appealed against the ruling and filed a Motion for Stay of Execution of the ruling/order of court made on February 20, 2023 and also by the said Application, seeking injunction pending.

But despite the Appeal and the Motion for Stay, the the Staff of Stallion themselves, recruited the Policemen from Zone 2 and without the court bailiffs, went to the premises and making attempts to resort to self help and to execute the already appealed order.

The police was seen at the premises, but, without court Bailiffs. Sources also revealed that the Deputy Sheriff of the Federal High Court never wrote a letter to the police for the execution of the said order.

Meanwhile both GTB and the Receiver/Manager, Barrister Gbenga Akinde-Peters, have asked the Appeal court for an order order of stay against the ruling of Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of Lagos Federal High Court, which upturned the consent judgment granting them power to take over the affairs of Stallion Nigeria Limited and it’s subsidiaries.

The Appellants through their lawyer, Temilolu Adamolekun, listed four four grounds for the appeal.

The Appellants ground one of appeal is that “The learned Trial Judge erred in law when he made an Order setting aside the execution of the Consent Judgment of December 17, 2019 carried out on the 1st of February, 2023, where there was no appeal against the Consent Judgment, no Motion for Stay of Execution of the Consent Judgment, no Order staying the execution of the Consent Judgment.

“The learned Trial Judge misdirected himself in law when he held that the Appellants ought not to have executed the Consent Judgment of December 17, 2019 carried out on the of February, 2023, in view of the pendency of the Application for Extension of time before the Lower Court dated December 8, 2022, to complete the Audit Report, that was pending before the Court, thereby amending/inserting an extraneous condition for the enforcement of the Consent judgment of December 17, 2019, which the Court had no jurisdictional power to do.

“The learned Trial Judge erred in law when he set aside the execution of the Consent Judgment on the basis that the Appellants did not apply for a Positive Order for the enforcement of the execution where in reality the Consent Judgment already provided for the enforcement of the Consent Judgment, where there is a breach of any of the terms of the Consent Judgment.”

The appellants are therefore seeking the following reliefs: “A Order Of Stay Execution of the Order of February 20, 2023 pending the determination of the Appeal filed by the Plaintiffs/Appellants.

“AN Order Of Injunction Pending Appeal restraining the first to 11th Respondents from enforcing the Order or any directive Dowing from or contained in the Ruling delivered on February 20, 2023 in this Cause coram Allagoa J, pending the hearing and determination of the Appeal of the Appellants/Applicants herein.

“An Order Of Injunction Pending Appeal restraining the sixth to eighth respondents; the Chief Registrar and/or Deputy Chief Registrar, the sheriffs/balliffs of the Honourable Court whether by themselves, their agents, officers, privics or any person(s] acting or purporting to act on their behalf, through’them or by their instructions, from exccuting‘or enforcing in any manner whatsoever the Order or any directive flowing from or contained in the ruling delivered on February 20 2023, by coram Allagoa J. pending the hearing and determination of the Appeal of the appellant/applicant herein.

“An order of injunction pending appeal restraining the Inspector-General Of Police, Assistant Inspector-General Of Police, Zone 2, Onikan, Lagos; The Commissioner Of Police, Lagos State Command, Ikeja, Lagos, their Deputies, officers from assisting the first to eighth respondents in enforcing the Order of of any Orders Nowing from or contained in the Ruling delivered on February 20, 2023, coram Allagoa J. pending the hearing and determination of the Appeal of the appellant/applicant herein. And for such further order or orders as the Court may deem fit to make in the circumstance.”