Billionaire businessman, Ibeto, caught in petty dog-fight with Anambra lawmaker

UPDATE:

The Anambra State High Court sitting in Otuocha has allowed Nnewi-born billionaire businessman, Chief Dr. Cletus Ibeto, to join the suit.

Chief Ibeto now needs to provw how he shares fundamental human rights with Hon. Augustine Onyekachukwu Ike.

Reacting to the development, the Special Assistant to Hon. Augustine Onyekachukwu Ike told newsman that constituents should go about their business and ignore the excesses of Ibeto.

According to the aide, his boss has more than enough capacity to manage the meddlesomeness of Ibeto effortlessly.

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Nnewi-born billionaire businessman, Chief Dr. Cletus Ibeto, has been engulfed in petty fight with Anambra State lawmaker, Hon. Augustine Onyekachukwu Ike.

The fight reached its crescendo when Chief Ibeto asked to be joined in a matter of an application by Hon. Ike, the Applicant, for the enforcement of his fundamental rights.

The matter was initiated in the High Court of Anambra State in the Otuocha Judicial Division holden at Otuocha suit no. OT/Misc.69A/2024, motion no: OT/946m/2024.

The suit has the following as Respondents:

1. Inspector General of Police
2. Habu San’ (Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Force Intelligence Department, Abuja.)
3. Godwin Aghaulor ( Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 13, Ukpo)
4. Nnaghe Obono Item (Commissioner of Police, Anambra State).
5. Victor Ojong (Investigating Police Officer, Force Intelligence Department), and,
6. Chief Dr. Cletus Ibeto, Party seeking to be joined.

The Motion on Notice was brought pursuant to order xiii (1) of fundamental rights (enforcement procedure) rules 2009, sections 6 (6) and 36 (i) of 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and under the inherent jurisdiction of the Otuocha court.

In the affidavit in support of Motion on Notice, one Nneka Onuora, who identified herself as a staff of the Chambers representing Ibeto, had nothing tangible to tell the court why Ibeto wants to join another man’s enforcement of his fundamental rights matter.

She only stated that Ibeto “is a necessary party in this case because he is the nominal complainant to the Police in the case leading to this suit”, describing him as “not only a proper party but a necessary party in this case”.

She stated further:

1. That the Applicant and supporters “vilified Chief Dr. Cletus Ibeto and condemned his action without them giving him opportunity to be heard”.
2. That the Applicant deliberately and Intentionally do not want to join Ibeto in this case so he can mislead the court, alleging that Hon. Ike secured the court order fraudulently and without proper notice.
3. That Ike deliberately and intentionally refused to make Ibeto a party before the court to enable him to obtain court order fraudulently by suppressing the facts.
4. That the Applicant had brought a similar application for Enforcement of his Fundamental Rights before Nnewi court in suit no. HN/Misc. 29/2023, Augustine Onyekachukwu Ike & Anor vs Inspector General of Police & 4 ors and judgment was delivered against him on June 11, 2024.
5. That Ibeto will be highly prejudiced if the court determines the case in his absence.

She also claimed that Ibeto has direct knowledge of the fact and circumstances necessitating the Applicant’s Application and would be instrumental to a just conclusion of this given case.

Without prodding, Onuora defended that Ibeto is not a meddlesome interloper but the one the Applicant referred to as being invited to Abuja and that the outcome of the court proceedings will affect him.

Written address in support of Chief Ibeto’s Motion for Joinder

Below is the written address in support of the Motion for Joinder presented by Chief Ibeto:

Introduction

This application before this Court is for joinder of Chief Dr. Cletus Ibeto as the 6th Respondent in this Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009 brought before this Honourable Court by Augustine Onyekachukwu Ike against the Inspector General of Police and five (5) others.

The Interested party has brought this application praying the Court for the following reliefs:

a) AN ORDER OF THIS HONOURABLE COURT joining Chief Dr. Cletus Ibeto in this suit as the 6th Respondent.
b) AND FOR SUCH FURTHER OTHER ORDERS as this Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstances.

We rely on the supporting affidavit in adopting this written address as our oral argument in urging His Lordship to grant this innocuous application.

Issues for Determination

Whether this application is meritorious and ought to be granted?

Brief Facts Leading to This Application

On March 2023, the party seeking to be joined to this matter, who belongs to social media platform such as WhatsApp on a different group, watched with total disdain and disrespect wherein the Applicant before this Court was saying in the video record that Chief Dr. Cletus Ibeto, the party seeking to be joined had secured arrest of warrant against him and that he has gone to Court and obtained a restraining order against him and the Respondents on record.

Sir, the interested party never secured any warrant and because the Applicant wants to be mischievous to shoot him off this fundamental proceedings. He schemed the party seeking to be joined out so that he will secure the judgment of this Honourable Court in a dishonest and fraudulent manner, hence this application because according to His Lordship Hon. Justice Niki Tobi in the celebrated case of Inakoju vs. Adeleke (2007) All FWLR pg. 33 R 40 “that litigation is not a game of cleverness, smartness or tricks. It is not a hide and seek game where one of the parties in all cleverness and smartness takes ambush and waits with all acrobatic dexterity for the opponent to fall into a trap and get him thoroughly harmed or destroyed. Litigation is not a game one of the where of chess parties attempted to trap the opponent’s king to obtain victory. On the contrary, litigation has an in-built dispute setting mechanism where the parties come out in the open to make their case frankly and not cunningly“.

LEGAL ARGUMENT

Whether this application is meritorious and ought to be granted?

We submit with every sense of responsibility that this application is not only meritorious but timeously and ought to be granted and we urge the Court to grant same for the greatest interest of justice.

We further submit that joining Chief Dr. Cletus Ibeto in this case wherein he would be allowed to give an account of his own side of the story, the likes of Aguiyi Anaedo who said that after watching the Applicant’s interim order video will not continue to believe in his lies and blackmailing which is Applicant’s trade mark. The said Aguiyi had stated as follows:

“I condemn in its entirety, this obvious attempt(s) by Chief Dr. Cletus Ibeto to scuttle the progressive future of Nnewi by scheming to hamstring the smooth election of Sir Augustine Ike-Aka Ikedoji, as the Nnewi North representative in the Anambra State House of Assembly from 2023 till 2027. Issuance of arrest documents against his person, is a direct attack on the much anticipated and highly progressive future of Nnewi and thus, must be frowned at by every Onye Nnewi. Ikedoji is one of the brightest young men in Nnewi, who enjoys the confidence of all and sundry thus, it is indeed distasteful that Ibeto seeks to rob Nnewi of quality representation in Awka and since nature abhors vacuum, all that will be left in the absence of Ikedoji would be mere stopgap at best. Nnewi is YPP and Ikedoji is the best brain to represent us, nothing should happen to Ikedoji”

The Applicant before this Honourable Court in this statement in support of his application and affidavit copiously stated that the 15 Respondent is currently handling criminal allegations brought before him but deliberately omitted to make Chief Dr. Cletus Ibeto, who he has been castigating, insulting and maligning, so that he can be allowed to defend himself. It is indeed quite unfortunate that the Applicant was clever by half.

We submit further that it is a settled law that an interested party can intervene in a proceeding at any stage where he can show that he is a necessary party because it was in this instance of the interested party petition, that Applicant was invited to Abuja last year 2022 and he came sometime in early January, 2023 to write his statements and was allowed to go without even asked to get a surety. And the party seeking to be joined never applied for any warrant of arrest of the Applicant.

Therefore Sir, it is a settled law that all a party needs to show is that he is interested in the matter and ought to have been a party but was not joined and whether the decision or outcome of the suit will affect him. All these can be found in our Affidavit and we urge the Court to grant our application.

The Applicant before this Court knows that the party interested is a necessary party in this suit but he deliberately decided not to join him but will go on social media such as WhatsApp to castigate and defame Chief Dr. Cletus Ibeto a quintessential gentleman of impeccable character in all ramifications without giving him opportunity to be heard.

Sir, it is the law that necessary party to a suit need to be made a party and in a suit for alleged breach of Fundamental Right, it is undoubtably that the person who complained to the Police is a necessary party. It is also our submission that a guilty person is always afraid and litigation is not a game of cheers or smartness in which parties lay ambush or hide and seek or short cuts. The Supreme Court in Larmie V.D.P.M Vs. Services Ltd (2006) ALL FWLR (pt. 296) 775 @803, paras E-D warned that:

“Litigation is not a game of trick and ambivalent short cuts covered with catching baits of the fisherman but one in which the parties came out openly to make their case for the decision of the Court. The principles of equity and fair play will not side a party who comes to Court with filthy and unclean hands”.

Finally, in Re. Magaji (1986) NWLR (pt.19) 759, it was held that joinder of a party is necessary to enable the Court effectively and completely adjudicate upon and settle the questions involved in the cause or matter and Court has an obligation to grant the application at any time.

Further to the above, the party sought to be joined is constitutionally empowered to do so and this is the intent and the spirit capsulated in Section 36 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

It is Fundamental to note that the Rules for the Enforcement of Procedure of Applicant’s Rights by virtue of Order XIII allows Chief Dr. Cletus Ibeto Omekannaya “OON” to come in suo muto, but for avoidance of doubt let us reproduce the said Order XIII (1) of Fundamental Rights:

“Any person or body who desires to be heard in respect of any human rights Application and who appears to the Court to be a proper party to be heard may be heard whether or not the party has been served with any of the relevant processes and whether or not the party has any interest in the matter”.

Conclusion

We urge the Court to grant this application for the greatest interest of justice, bearing in mind that the Supreme Court celebrated the case of FBN Vs. Ndoma-Egba (2006) ALL FWLR (pt. 307) lO12© 1045, Paras D-E where the Court clearly held thus;

‘Courts do not administer justice in the abstract and the justice administer by the Courts is justice in accordance xxwith the law. It is only by orderly administration of law and obedience to the Rules that legal justice can be attained”. 5.02 We urge the Court to look at order XIII (1) of Fundamental Right Enforcement Procedure 2009 and grant our application without much ado.”

The application dated 31st July, 2024, and signed by Sir Marcel C. Dim-Udebuani Esq. and seven others, was due for service on the Applicant through Kaine Ananwune Esq. and Chimdi M. Amankwe Esq, Counsel Fides Attorneys, as well as other five respondents, mostly police authorities.

However, after reading the application filed by Chief Ibeto through his Counsel, Hon. Ike, citing the presiding judge, wondered what the interest of Ibeto is in chasing shadows in a case that has all the marks of a citizen’s fundamental rights issues clearly written on it and not a matter of litigation.

The judge is yet to decide if he will grant the request for a joinder by Chief Ibeto or not.

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