SAN FRANCISCO, September 11, (THEWILL) – President Goodluck Jonathan, Vice President Namadi Sambo and some key members of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) were on Wednesday joined in a contempt suit pending before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja .
Bedding Holdings Limited, owner of the patented ballot boxes being used by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for elections asked the court to join the president and others in the suit.
The company accused the president of conniving with INEC to flout the order of the court which barred INEC from using the patented ballot boxes without the permission of the owner.
President Jonathan and others, cited as alleged contemnors in an application filed on September 9 are being joined in the suit for their alleged unlawfully use of the patented ballot boxes for the PDP special convention, without the consent of the patent owner – Bedding Holdings Limited.
Specifically, Jonathan, Sambo and other respondents were accused of undermining and flouting a subsisting order of the Federal High Court on the ballot boxes used for the August 31 special convention of the PDP in Abuja.
The application was filed for Bedding Holdings by its lawyer, John Okoriko of Karina Tunyan (SAN) & Co. following the earlier issuance of a Form 48 (notice of disobedience of court orders) filed on September 4 on the alleged contemnors.
The fresh application specifically seeks an order joining President Jonathan and seven others in “the contempt proceedings already commenced by plaintiff/applicant.”
Also to be joined are Vice President, Namadi Sambo, Senate President, David Mark, Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, the PDP and its chairman, Bamanga Tukur.
Others are Professor Jerry Gana (who acted as the Chairman, PDP’ special convention committee) and Ken Nnamani (who was the Chairman, PDP’s electoral committee).
The company argued that the application was informed by its realisation that the eight alleged contemnors were “necessary and desirable parties” to the contempt proceedings.
It added that the ground on which it sought that Jonathan and others be joined in the contempt proceedings was that they “are serial contemnors, who contemptuously connived with sixth and seventh defendants/respondents (the Independent National Electoral Commission ,INEC, and its chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega)” to use the applicant’s transparent ballot boxes for the PDP’s convention in violation of a subsisting judgment of the court delivered on June 5, 2012 by Justice Adamu Bello.
It contended that except Jonathan and others were joined in the case, in view of “the pivotal role” they played in the disobedience of a valid and subsisting court judgement, the contempt proceeding would not be “effectively and effectually determined.”
Group Executive Chairman, Bedding Holdings, Chief Sylvester Odigie, in a supporting affidavit, stated that his company had initiated the contempt proceedings against INEC and Jega on July 18, 2012 via a motion on notice seeking an order commiting the two to prison, for their alleged contemptuous use of the ballot boxes for all the elections they had conducted since the. June 5, 2012 judgment.
He cited some of the elections for which the ballot boxes were used, without his company’s consent, to include the last governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States, and other elections conducted subsequently by INEC.
Justice Bello had in the judgement given in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/82/11 held among others, that the plaintiff, Bedding Holdings, owns “valid and subsisting patent rights” over transparent ballot boxes and electronic collapsible transparent ballot boxes being used for elections in the country.
Specifically, the court upheld Bedding Holding’s claim to being the bona fide patentee and the exclusive owner of the invention named “Transparent Ballot Boxes” on which it was issued certificate of registration patent rights No. RP12994 and registration of industrial designs rights No. RD5946 by the Registrar of Patents on January 12, 1998.
The court also upheld the subsequent certification of an improvement on the invention named “Electronic Collapsible Transparent Ballot Boxes” (with certificate of registration of patent rights No. RP16642 and registration of industrial designs rights No. RD13841 issued on November 27, 2006 which are still valid.
The judge voided the rights over similar inventions purportedly issued later, to three firms – Emchai Limited, Tambco United Nigeria Ltd and Anowat Project and Resources Ltd – by the Registrar of Patent, for being illegal.
Justice Bello granted an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants and any other person from utilising or dealing with the patented boxes of the plaintiff “except with the express and prior consent, license and authority of the plaintiff to that effect.”Emchai applied to the court on June 28, 2012 for an order setting aside the judgment.
On September 27, 2012, INEC and Jega equally applied for an order staying execution of the judgment pending the determination of their appeal.Justice Bello,had in a ruling on May 13 this year, dismissed the applications by Emchai, INEC.and Jega for lacking in merit.The judge, also in the ruling, slammed INEC and Jega for utilising the same ballot boxes for the Edo and Ondo elections in disregard of the court’s subsisting judgment.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the fresh application.
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