A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, on Monday ordered a Lagos-based businessman, Jimoh Ibrahim, to stop publishing the Newswatch newspapers henceforth.
The court said Ibrahim had not been able to prove ownership of the media business venture allegedly sold to him by the founding fathers of the magazine.
Justice Ibrahim Buba nullified the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) which allegedly transferred ownership of Newswatch Communications Limited to Global Media Mirror Limited owned by Ibrahim.
In the judgement delivered by Buba on a suit filed by some minority shareholders of the organisation to challenge the validity of the takeover of the company, the court awarded N15.7 million damages against the respondents.
Buba also held that it is an inevitable conclusion that the petitioners have discharged the burden placed on them and have proven their case while the first to fourth respondents have failed woefully to discharge the burden placed on them.
The court stated that the findings of Justice Okon Abang, in his Judgment he earlier delivered in a related suit with number FHC/L/CS/1054/2012, is not a ratio decidendi but an obita, and is therefore not binding on the court.
Those who filed the petition are Nuhu Aruwa and Prof. Jibril Aminu while the respondents were Newswatch Communications Limited, Global Media Mirror Limited, Ibrahim, Newswatch Newspapers and Corporate Affairs Commission.
In delivering his judgement, Buba declared that the petitioners gave evidence to show that the second and third respondents “have blatantly failed to pay for the shares in the company.
Buba said: “They have not showed how and when they paid for the said shares. Nothing in paragraph 11 and 18A of the respondents’ Statement of Defence shows how they have paid for the shares.
“There is no evidence in paragraph 3.0 that the respondents have paid on or before 5th May, 2011. The respondents have only given their interpretation to that paragraph. Whatever monies they spent was spent on Daily Mirror and was confirmed by DW2 during cross examination.
“The N510million was supposed to be paid for shares and not for any other purpose, there is no evidence to show that the Shares have been paid for.
“Besides, it was a company called ‘Global Fleet’ that paid the N14million, not any of the respondents who contracted with the first respondent.”
The court granted all the reliefs as set out on the petition at the inception of the case as follows: an order setting aside the contract entered into between the first and respondent companies by virtue of document titled ‘Share Purchase Agreement’ between Newswatch Communications Limited ‘Seller’ and Global Media Mirror Limited ‘Buyer’ and executed by the parties therein on or about May 2011.
Other reliefs granted by the court included a consequential order setting aside the Form CAC2 – Statement of Share Capital and Return of Allotment of Shares of the 1st Respondent company, dated 27th August 2012 and presented for filing by one Gloria A. Ukeje; an order directing the second and third respondents jointly and severally to pay special damages in the sum of N15.7million to the 1st respondent company being loss of Business profits since August 2012 till October 2012 when the 1st Respondent’s operations were unilaterally shut down by the 2nd and third respondents and to pay an average sum of N5million per month for every month that the 1st Respondent is shut down without production of its weekly magazine until the determination of the suit.
