Pinnick ‘incoherent’ in court as LMC is ordered to pay N241 million

NFF President Amaju Pinnick was far from being a convincing Prosecution Witness when he was docked in a case of criminal defamation he brought against Nigeria Football Rights Activist Harrison Jalla.

Pinnick failed to establish any case against Jalla on Friday, March 4, 2022, when the case with Charge Number FHC/WR/49C/2021 opened.

When the matter was mentioned at about 11 am in the morning of that day, Pinnick was invited to the witness box as PW1 to give evidence on oath.

For nearly two hours Pinnick fumbled in the witness box, telling stories that were unconnected and have no nexus with charges against the accused person according to a report from Insidetheglasshouse

Sweating profusely and going off the curve to the consternation of the prosecutor, who was forced to interject again and again while guiding him to give relevant evidence.

Suddenly to the surprise of the Judge and the full court session the prosecutor had to stop Pinnick abruptly from giving further evidence apparently as a damage control measure to ask for an adjournment.

This according to the prosecutor is to allow for the prosecution to gather more evidence.

The Judge was furious at this stage with the prosecution who had more than three months to prepare for the trial.

Victor Otomiewo, counsel to Harrison Jalla, also expressed displeasure to what he referred to as lack of diligence on the part of the prosecution.

The matter has now been adjourned to May 4, 2022, when Pinnick will continue with his evidence.

The case at the Federal High Court sitting in Warri, Delta State, is presided over by Hon. Justice Okon Abang.

Jalla was arraigned on November 11, 2021, over frivolous charges of defamation of character by Pinnick.

Jalla was represented in the proceedings by senior counsel Otomiewo, former Attorney General of Delta State.

Meanwhile, after losing at the Supreme Court in a major landmark judgment by the highest court in the land, the League Management Company Limited, (LMC ) is now condemned to cough out the total sum Two Hundred and Forty – One Million, Nine Hundred and Fifteen Thousand Six Hundred and Forty- Four Naira (241,915,644.00 Naira)

Earlier in September 28th. 2012, Justice O. A. Adefope – Okojie of the Federal High Court of Lagos State in her Judgment awarded the said amount to the claimants, Emmanuel Oboh and Associates against the sole defendant  Nigeria Football League Limited at the said trial court.

However in a spirited effort not to pay the awarded cost, the LMC argued in an affidavit that it didn’t know the 1st. Respondent NFL, adding that the Justice Okorowo in FHC/ABJ/CS/179/2010 had declared its incorporation as illegal and void.

This made the trial court of Justice Adefope – Okojie to revisit and review her earlier Judgment so as to make the final decision nugatory and unenforceable.

But the Supreme Court categorically emphasized that there is no any power or jurisdiction enures to the court before which application for ganishee absolute is pending to constitute itself into a appellate court to review the money Judgment being enforced.

According to the Supreme Court, “it is in any doubt that on 9th. July 2013, the trial High Court of ( Adefope – Okojie ) entered judgment against the 1st. Respondent, NFL in the sum of ( 232,915,644.00 ) in favor of the Appellants, adding that the Justice Okorowo was executory and placed a further duty on a third party, the Corporate Affairs Commission to wind up the 1st. Respondent, NFL while there was no evidence that at all times material to the decision appealed, the winding up order had been carried out or duly executed.

It therefore concluded that the judgment subsists and remains binding and it took immediate effect from the date it was pronounced.

Consequently, the Supreme Court decided that the indebtedness of the judgment debtor to the judgment creditor is no longer an issue while the appeal of the Appellants was allowed.