Today, July 4, 2022, at the Balogun Business Association BBA market in the Trade Fair Complex, Ojo, along the Lagos/Badagry Expressway, Lagos, it appears that law and order are breaking down.

This is happening as some breakaway Association members, led by Chief Oscar Odogwu and Chief Okey Ezeibe, purport to enforce a dubious, highly dubious court order in a very dangerous attempt to impose an unknown, unrecognized association member on the bustling market traders in violation of ongoing orders and decisions of the Federal High Court.

According to sources, the issue that had been roiling the market association entered a new phase after Chief Okey Ezeibe allegedly led a small group of association supporters to a secret location outside the market and pretended to hold an election.

To the dismay of other members who believed Chief Ezeibe’s reign was ended and that holding the election outside the market would violate the association’s constitution, this election reportedly resulted in the election of unpopular and unrecognized individuals, including Chief Oscar Odogwu.

This allegedly illegal election was held despite the Federal High Court, Abuja, ordering that such action should not be taken in its ruling in July 2021 in a complaint filed under the case number FHC/ABJ/CS/451/2021.

According to sources in the market, Chief Okey Ezeibe is starting what the majority of association members believe to be an illegal and very risky adventure in order to maintain his position as a life trustee of the organization and to continue having access to its funds as he did when he was president of the organization.

According to sources in the market, Chief Okey Ezeibe had already contacted the Corporate Affairs Commission CAC to change the procedure of the Board of Trustees.

He was alleged to have tried to establish himself as a life Chairman of the Board of Trustees, but the association and its incumbent management filed a lawsuit after the CAC swiftly and carelessly revoked the association’s Certificate of Registration, leading to an order by the Federal High Court in Abuja, which intervened, stayed the action of the Commission, and kept the association’s incumbent management in office pending resolution of that Suit No.FHC/ABJ/451/202.

According to reliable sources, Chief Okey Ezeibe turned to the Nigeria Police Force to get his way after realizing he would encounter strong opposition from the association and its current management.

But once more, the association and its current administration sued the police in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/579/2021, in which Chief Ezeibe and other defendants are now now parties at issue.

On July 23, 2021, the Federal High Court declared in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/579/2021 that Chief Ezeibe’s fraudulent election could not stand.

The Federal High Court additionally issued an order in Suit No.FHC/ABJ/CS/579/2021 on September 27, 2021, directing the Police to make sure that nothing is done to tamper with or interfere with the case’s subject matter.

According to our correspondents’ investigations, the Federal High Court’s rulings in Case Nos. FHC/ABJ/CS/451/2021 and FHC/ABJ/CS/579/2021 are still in effect as of the time of this report.

According to reports, Chief Oscar Odogwu, Chief Okey Ezeibe, and a small group of their supporters contacted Mr. Sylvester Abiodun Alabi, the current Lagos State Commissioner of Police, who may be well-informed about market trends.

However, Chief Anselm Dunu-led legally constituted Caretaker Committee, with the support of the vast majority of association members, has been interacting with the Nigeria Police Force up until the recent developments of the rumored plans by the Police to invade the market in the early hours of today and forcibly seize the market and the Secretariat have been pleading with him to direct the Area ‘E’ Commander to give them enough Policemen to enforce the illegal election.

They are reported to be relying on a ruling of the Lagos State High Court of the 5th of May, 2022 in Suit No.LD/3175LM/2021 which ruled on legal representation of the Association and in which the Lagos State High Court presided by Honourable Justice Ogunjobi is reported to have sat on appeal over the earlier decisions of the Federal High Court in Suit No.FHC/ABJ/CS/451/2021 and Suit No.FHC/ABJ/CS/579/2021 and purportedly set these decisions of the Federal High Court aside despite that the Federal High Court is a court of coordinate jurisdiction with the Lagos State High Court.

But this ruling of the Lagos State High Court is already a subject matter of an appeal by the association to the Court of Appeal entered at the Court of Appeal, Lagos, as APPEAL No.CA/LAG/CV/473/2022 since 27th May, 2022.

The association also filed a Motion for Stay of Execution of that ruling of the Lagos State High Court and our investigations confirm that both the Deputy Sheriff of the High Court of Lagos State, the Inspector-General of Police, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2 Command, Lagos, and the Commissioner of Police of the Lagos State Command as well as the lawyer for Chief Ezeibe and Chief Oscar Odogwu and their band of followers were served with the motion for stay of execution.

It is therefore surprising and a matter of serious concern that the Nigeria Police Force through its Area E Command seems set, from reports, to forcibly invade the BBA market in the very early morning hours of today to seize control of the market and the Secretariat of the Association and forcibly install Chief Oscar Odogwu, Chief Okey Ezeibe and their cohorts as purportedly elected officers of the association in what appears to be a brazen defiance of the judiciary in Nigeria and contravention of subsisting orders and decisions of the Federal High Court and nowithstanding the real likelihood of a bloodbath, monumental breakdown of law and order in the market arising from such reckless, dangerous and illegal action by the Police.

Chief Anselm Dunu, the incumbent Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the association assures our correspondents that the association and its incumbent management led by him has repeatedly extended a hand of fellowship to Chief Okey Ezeibe and Chief Oscar Odogwu, calling them to join hands with the rest of the association to move the association forward and conduct credible election of new officers.

The association, he said, calls on the Area Commander of Area E Command to steer clear and not interfere with ongoing judicial proceedings at the Federal High Court, Abuja, and at the Court of Appeal, particularly the appeal at the Court of Appeal against the Ruling of Justice Ogunjobi of the Lagos State High Court of 5th May, 2022 and the pending motion for stay of execution pending determination of the appeal, stay of proceedings in the suit pending determination of the appeal, and injunction pending determination of the appeal.

The Area Commander, the association admonished, should not allow himself to be deceived and misled by outlaws who have no respect for the Courts of Law and the Rule of Law.

The operation the Area Commander wants to carry out is patently illegal, the association warned and the Area Commander should cease and desist from the brazen illegality he his attempting to foist on the association.

The way forward, the association insisted, is for the Area Commander to respect the subsisting decision of the Federal High Court in the ongoing judicial proceedings in Suits at the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.