Victory for Osita Obi as Court Strikes Out EEDC’s N100m Lawsuit After 6 Years
Comrade Osita Obi
The Federal High Court sitting in Awka, Anambra State, has struck out the N100 million suit instituted by the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) against human rights activist, Comrade Osita Obi.
EEDC had filed a suit seeking N100 million in damages against Obi over his alleged involvement in protests against electricity distribution services in the state in 2019.
The protests were reportedly organised to challenge persistent power outages and other electricity-related issues affecting consumers.
The matter was assigned to Court 2 of the Federal High Court, Awka, presided over by Hon. Justice Bala Khalifa-Mohammed Usman. The court struck out the suit for lack of diligent prosecution.
When the matter came up for the continuation of hearing, neither the applicant nor its counsel was present in court.
Counsel to the defendant, Barr. Martin Obi, appearing on behalf of Comrade Osita Obi, made an oral application urging the court to dismiss the suit and award costs of N1 million against the applicant for lack of diligent prosecution.
According to him, the matter had lingered for an unreasonably long period, and the continued absence of the applicant and its counsel demonstrated a lack of interest in prosecuting the case.
He submitted that the applicant had consistently failed to appear before the court to proceed with the prosecution of the suit and urged the court to dismiss the matter with substantial costs.
Barr. Obi further argued that the defendant had incurred considerable expenses defending the action since 2019, when the case commenced, noting that the matter had traversed several jurisdictions, including Abuja, Enugu, and Awka, Anambra State.
Delivering his ruling in Suit No. FHC/AWK/CS/07/2020, the presiding judge, Hon. Justice Bala Khalifa-Mohammed Usman, held that the suit could no longer be sustained due to the applicant’s failure to diligently prosecute the matter and accordingly struck it out.
The court, however, declined the defendant’s request for an award of costs against the applicant.
