. The hospital contends that the delay in judgment has adversely affected its operations and prevented it from accessing funds from a N150 billion COVID-19 loan.. The hospital contends that the delay in judgment has adversely affected its operations and prevented it from accessing funds from a N150 billion COVID-19 loan. The Nigerian Lawyer reached out to Justice Ogbonnaya’s chambers for a response but did not receive a reply as of the time of filing this report.
Reliance Referral Hospital Limited, Abuja, has protested the delay in judgment in a motion challenging the sale of the healthcare facility by a commercial bank to a private company.
The case, which relates to the 160-bed Garki II hospital, is being heard by Justice Keziah N. Ogbonnaya of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, sitting in Kubwa Division.
In a protest letter to the Chief Justice of the FCT High Court, Justice Hussein Baba Yusuf, the hospital owners expressed concern over the silence of the judge since December 1, 2023, when she heard the motion and ruling.
A director, Mohammed Zahradeen Baba-Kusa, urged the CJ to intervene by compelling Justice Ogbonnaya to render judgment on the motion marked M/14135/2023 in the suit FCT/HC/CV/135/2022 filed by one Solomon Umoh (SAN) on November 10, 2023.
Zahradeen Baba-Kusa recalled that a letter requesting delivery of the judgment, dated April 4, 2023, was received at the registry of Justice Ogbonnaya on April 5, 2024, without any response.
The memo to the CJ reads, in part: “Reliance Referral Hospital Limited, registered under the Company and Allied Matters Act, through motion number M/14135/2023, applied to the Honourable Justice K. N Ogbonnaya of Court 16, sitting at Kubwa.
“The petition requests the Honourable Court to set aside its judgment dated 4 August 2022 in case number FCT/HC/CV/135/2022 (between the Bank and Buyer) on the grounds of lack of due process, fraud, deceit and concealment of facts by the plaintiff/claimant, which caused the court to pass judgment.
“The motion was argued on December 1, 2023 and My Lord reserved judgment and informed counsel for both parties that a date for judgment would be communicated to them. Since then, no date for judgment has been communicated to the parties or their counsel.
“The applicant, having waited too long for the judgment, wrote a letter to the Honourable Court on 4 April 2024, drawing the attention of the Lord to the judgment, which was received and confirmed by the Registry on 5 April 2023, and requesting the Court to give its judgment so that the parties may be aware of their fate.
“No date has been communicated to the parties or their counsel for judgment since 1 December 2023. My Lord, we cannot wait forever for the judgment of the court, as we are adversely affected by the said decision of the court.
“Mr President, we humbly draw your attention to the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, which gives and imposes on all courts in Nigeria, including this court, the maximum period of three months to render judgment and even refrain from rendering judgment,” the protest letter added.
