Billionaire businessman, Jimoh Ibrahim is no longer the owner of Newswatch magazine and Daily Newswatch Newspaper, a Lagos High Court has ruled today.
The presiding judge, Ibrahim Buba, said Ibrahim, who is also the owner of the National Mirror Newspaper, did not pay for the shares of the company and so, cannot lay claim to its ownership.
Two external shareholders of the flagship Newspaper, Nuhu Aruwa, a businessman, and Professor Jibril Aminu, a former minister of petroleum, had approached the court to restrain Ibrahim from parading himself as the owner of Newswatch magazine and the Daily Newswach Newspaper.
In the judgment, which lasted for one hour, the judge declared: “The argument that the 2nd petitioner (Jibril Aminu), did not testify is of no moment where cases are contended in pleadings.
“The issues for determination must flow from the pleadings; proliferation of issues by the 1st (Newswatch Communications Limited) to 4th (Newswatch Newspapers Limited) respondents is an attempt to take the court outside the issues raised by the pleadings.
“The court agrees with the petitioners that the onus lies on the respondents to prove they have paid for their shares.
“Mr Oyesanya SAN, for the petitioners, has rightly submitted that the issue is whether parties have complied with the Shares Purchase Agreement or not.
“The 2nd (Global Media Mirror Limited) to 3rd (Jimoh Ibrahim) respondents had obligations to pay on or before completion date of the SPA (Shares Purchase Agreement) of 5th May 2011.
“The 1st to 4th respondents ran from the case as raised by the petitioners.
“It is common grounds that several meetings were held before the meeting of 5th May 2011, to bring in the 1st and 2nd respondents into the 3rd respondents.
“The court referrers to clause 4:31, 13.0, 13.2 of the SPA. The petitioners gave evidence to show that the 2nd (Global Media Mirror Limited) to 3rd ( Jimoh Ibrahim) respondents have blatantly failed to pay for the shares in the company.
“They have not showed how and when they paid for the said shares.
“Nothing in paragraph 11 and 18A of the respondents’ statements of defence show 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,” the judge said.
Justice Buba then delivered his ruling: “In calm reflection of the reliefs, the court has come to the inevitable conclusion that the petitioners have discharged the burden placed on them and have proved their case.
“While the 1st to 4th respondents have failed woefully to discharge the burden placed on them. The case of the petitioners has merit. The court grants all the reliefs as set out at the inception of this case (I e reliefs A to I) as set out on the petition.”
Among the reliefs granted Aruwa and Aminu, the petitioners in the case, include: “An order of perpetual injunction restraining the 2nd and 3rd respondents by themselves, their agents, servants or privies howsoever called for from further interfering in or assuming management and control of the 1st respondents company in any manner whatsoever
“An order setting aside the forms CAC (Corporate Affairs Commission) 2 and allied registration details of the 4th respondents and directing the 5th ((Corporate Affairs Commission) respondents not to honour or countenance any steps taken by the 2nd respondents thereupon, by themselves, their agents, servants and privies howsoever called.
“An order of injunction restraining the 2nd and 3rd respondents by themselves, their agents, servants and privies howsoever called from taking any further steps in the object of the 4th respondents company, that is from floating a new daily newspaper called Newswatch Daily in the name of the 1st respondent company.”
