The Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, has delivered a landmark
judgement on the 26th of October, 2018, affirming the decision of
the Federal High Court, Lagos, wherein judgement was entered in
favour of the two Claimants, Mr. Monday Onyekachi Ubani, the
Immediate Past 2nd Vice president of NBA and his wife Mrs.
Faurstina Ubani.
They were awarded general damages for the emotional and
psychological trauma they suffered when they lost all the goods and
items they bought when they travelled to South Africa in the year
2005.
They were also awarded sums of money as Special Drawing Rights
on the weight of the baggage they lost when they arrived Murtala
Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, and failed to see their
baggage, apparently lost or stolen due to the gross negligence of
the Airways.
The legal team of the Claimants was led by one Barrister Igwe
Joseph, a senior counsel in the law firm of Ubani & Co.
The suit which was commenced in the year 2006 has suffered
several adjournments, interruptions, and change of counsels about
five in number by the Airline, until favorable judgement was
entered in favour of the Ubanis by the Federal High Court, Ikoyi.
The Airways in their character refused to pay the compensation but
chose to appeal to the Court of Appeal which threw out their appeal
and affirmed the lower court’s decision in granting the reliefs of
the Ubanis.
Whether the Airline will comply with this judgement or not is
yet to be seen, but Mr. Ubani Onyekachi has promised to levy
execution on the Airways if it fails, refuses and or neglects to
pay the awarded sum within the statutory time allowed.
He is also ready to face them at the Supreme Court if they chose
“to climb upstairs”.
Meanwhile, the controversial case of Mr Ubani versus National
Assembly and Ors bothering on the bogus pay and allowances of the
National Assembly members is coming up next Monday the 29th day of
October 2018, before Justice Obiozor of the Federal High Court,
Lagos.
The suit which was commenced by two legal Practitioners that are
based here in Lagos has suffered two adjournments due to problems
associated with service of the court processes on parties.
Recently, service was effected on all the parties and proof of
service is presently in the court’s file, and the suit which is
being handled by a competent legal team headed by the renowned
Human Right Lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN on behalf of the Claimants
will be ripped for hearing this Monday in Lagos.
Up till now, the National Assembly and the other parties in the
suit have not filed any response to the suit.
It is the belief of the two Claimants, Mr. Onyekachi Ubani and
his colleague, Mr. John Nwokwu, that justice shall be served to the
suffering masses of this country on this all-important
constitutional case since the judiciary remains the last hope of
the common man.