—Judgment, A Victory Against Leadership Impunity In The Club

By Kayode Fasua

A Federal High Court sitting in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, has, in a landmark judgement, upturned the suspension of a high-profile member of Abeokuta Club, Mr. Babatunde Dokunmu, describing the act as unlawful.

In tow, the court in annulling the suspension, awarded a sum of N2 million as damages in favour of Dokunmu, to be borne by defendants in the suit.

Those dragged before the court are the Incorporated Trustees of Abeokuta Club; Chief Olatunde Abudu; Mr Tokunbo Odebunmi who was the president of the Club; Justice Bode Popoola (retd) and Chief Sean Okutoro, all of whom were defendants/respondents, in the order.

In the suit that lasted a year, the plaintiff, Dokunmu, deplored his unlawful suspension by the incorporated trustees of Abeokuta Club, vide a suspension letter signed by the General Secretary, Okutoro, which the latter had claimed was premised on recommendations of a panel chaired by an elder of the club, Justice Popoola (retd).

In his claims, the plaintiff recalled that the panel was set up by the Elders Forum/Trustees of the Club to investigate the petition submitted in November 2021 to challenge the purported considered second term in office to be given to then incumbent president, Odebunmi.

The petition was based on alleged misappropriation of the club’s funds, chronicling the president’s spending of about N11 million in the month of January 2019 (the first month of his ascension to the presidency for first term-January 2019 to December 2021), as captured in the minutes of February 2019 meeting of the club.

The plaintiff had averred that since it was conventional for the club not to hold meetings, either executive or general one in the month of every January, there couldn’t have been any formal authorisation for any such capital project expenditure.

“It’s only administrative expenditure, such as staff salaries, sundry/maintenance bills in every month of January that are so authorised,” the petitioner pointed out.

Also, there was an allegation of the club’s president spending a sum of N53 million between January and December 2019 without due process/due diligence, as Odebunmi reportedly claimed direct labour was handled by his personal company under supervision of his cousin, one Dotun.

It was this petition that the Justice Popoola’s panel claimed was investigated and deemed frivolous and thereafter, recommended Dokunmu for a six-month suspension, which was never presented to the body of elders forum/trustees for study, the court was told.

The court also heard that the recommendation was submitted to the Odebunmi-led Exco “and a few cabal, and out of sheer bias amongst his exco, they went ahead to suspend me/Esv Babatunde Dokunmu.”

“Wide consultations of personal efforts by well-meaning elders and members alike, of the club were made for amicable factual resolution, such as a panel to review Hon. Justice Popoola Panel’s recommendations, and headed by a retired judge of the Court of Appeal, Hon. Justice Dehinde Shoremi, JCA, and another concerned members’ panel headed by Dr Tayo Apampa; but their separate recommendations, seeking revocation of the suspension described as unlawful were thwarted by the club’s leadership.

“It was on the strength of all these, and the need for me, Esv Babatunde Dokunmu to redeem my esteemed family name and integrity that I had to seek a redress in the court of law, hence the suit of last May 2021, at the Federal High Court, Abeokuta, and judgement was entered in my favour, annulling the suspension and awarding damages in the sum of two million naira in my favour on Thursday 19th May, 2022,” Dokunmu told The Liberation News, in the aftermath of the verdict.

In his ruling, the judge, Justice O. O. Oguntoyinbo, affirmed that in the light of facts and circumstances of the case, Dokunmu’s suspension from the club was done in bad faith and he has as such nullified the act.

He also awarded N2 million damages against the defendants, as against N10 million sought by the plaintiff.

The Liberation News approached some members of the club that spoke on condition of anonymity. A prominent member of the club who would not want his name in print commended the judgment describing it as “a victory against leadership impunity in our revered Abeokuta Club.”

He further stated that he hopes that the “legal principle of “nemo judex in causa sua” will be adhered to by the club’s leadership while handling genuine complaints from respected members in future.”

Another member of the club who prefers to speak under anonymity stated that the judgment should send the right signals that “members of Abeokuta Club are not morons but highly educated and enlightened people that would brook no nonsense from any one or leadership put in place by their toil.”

Furthermore, he believes that “moving forward, the club’s leadership should know and note that whatever actions that are being taken, whether pecuniary or otherwise, cannot escape the panoramic scrutiny of our rightly precocious club members.”

“Transparency and tolerance should henceforth be our watchword in Abeokuta Club,“ he added.

All efforts by The Liberation News to get Engr. Odebunmi’s views about the judgement proved abortive as phone calls put across to him were not answered as at the time of this publication.