By Akinwale Akintunde
The legal battle between Ikoyi Club 1938 and its ex-Entertainment Chairman, Mr. Gbenga Gbadesire is not yet over, despite the unfavourable decision by the Court of Appeal against the Appellant, Gbadesire.
Indications are that the N100 million fundamental rights suit, may shift to the Supreme Court soon.
Gbadesire, who served as the Entertainment Chairman of Ikoyi Club 1938 between February, 2006 and February, 2008, had taken the Trustees of the Club to court, claiming N100 million in damages, over alleged unwarranted or unprocedural expulsion from the Club.
In the suit first filed by the late Bamidele Aturu, before late Fred Agbaje took over at the demise of the former, he had also contended that his expulsion from the Club, via a letter dated October 2, 2008, was unprocedural and a breach of Rule 9 of the Ikoyi Club 1938 Rules 2007.
Aggrieved that he was unjustly suspended by the General Committee of the Club, a body which consists of all the elected and appointed officials of the Club, including the Trustees, Gbadesire had appealed to the 3-member Trustees in a letter dated September 8, 2008, to objectively take a second look at his case.
But, the Trustees who were part of the General Committee, (see Trustees on page 43 of GREEN BOOK, no. 18: j) that first suspended him, in a shocking and unprecedented U-turn to his appeal, instead, dismissed him from the Club. Ironically and embarrassingly, even the letterhead of Ikoyi Club used in dismissing him, bore his name as Entertainment Chairman of the Club, and this was six (6) months after leaving office.
Apart from the pedestal inquisitiveness to know who wanted him out of the Club, his Lawyers asked the Lagos High Court to Interpret the roles/duties of the Trustees as enshrined in the 2007 Rules/Constitution of the Club, as it relates to Trustees, Disciplinary and General Committee.
The Lawyers had prayed the court, to determine whether the Trustees of the Club did not flout their own rules by expelling the Claimant on appeal, without a trial; whether has not suffered double jeopardy by punishing him twice on the same offence/allegation, by denying him the natural principle of fair hearing, and whether his reputation, integrity and pride had not been damaged by a Club he served meritoriously for two years.
Gbadesire further contended that, he was not given fair hearing by the Club before he was expelled, and urged the court to declare that his right to fair hearing and the principle of natural justice under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution, were violated.
He had also urged the trial Judge, Justice Dawodu, to declare that his expulsion was a malicious and flagrant abuse of his right to the freedom of association as protected by Section 40 of the Constitution.
But, in his 2015 judgement, Justice Dawodu dismissed the suit, for lacking in merit.
Gbadesire however, appealed the judgement of Justice Dawodu. He had through his counsel, Mark Alata of Festus Kayemo Law firm, prayed the appellate court, to set aside the decision of the lower court and grant his reliefs.
Gbadesire had contended that, the “learned trial judge erred in law by holding that the Respondent complied with the Rules of the Club, hence the Appellant’s right to a fair hearing, was not infringed upon.
Unfortunately, Gbadesire also lost at the Court of Appeal, as the Appellate Court in their judgement delivered last December, upheld the decision of Justice Dawodu of the lower court.
Gbadesire however, believes that the appeal court Justices erroneously upheld the High Court ruling, without also considering the grounds of appeal in line with the Rules/Constitution of the Club, and issues of fundamental human rights as enshrined in the Constitution and as globally held to, which Ikoyi Club and any other association is bound to adhere to.
He noted that, the most painful aspect of the whole issue was when in February 2015, after the demise of his first counsel, Bamidele Aturu, a criminal dimension was added to the case, and he was unjustly taken before an Ikeja Chief Magistrate, and this led to Mrs. T.O. Aje-Afunwa sending him to Kirikiri Prisons in Suit No. MIK/A/112A/2014, by one Mr. Alaba Okupe of Ikoyi Club and SIB Ikeja.
However, Gbadesire is optimistic that when he re-tables his grounds of appeal as championed by his counsel before the Supreme Court, the miscarriage of justice will be set aside by the Apex Court, so that his hard earned pride and dignity are restored, because there is no doubt that a Club whose Rules and Constitution are not registered with the CAC, cannot audaciously mete out injustice without the legal system calling it to order.
