Court Case Of Jos Based Lawyer Who Allegedly Pocketed N107 Million Belonging To PRTVC Staff, Adjourns To 3rd December 2021 For Ruling On Jurisdiction

Yakubu Busari

A Plateau State High sitting in Jos Division has reserved for ruling in  Federal Republic of Nigeria,FRN,Vs Gideon Ngwen in Suit No. NICN/JOS/25/2014 and NICN/JOS/28/2016 filed in 2014 and 2016, respectively, parties entered into a consent judgment and it was agreed that N181, 890, 402. 66 be paid to all 100 workers through the account of the defendant domiciled in United Bank for Africa.

 

The clients, numbering at least no fewer than  100, employees of the Plateau State Radio Television Corporation (PRTVC) whose employment was unlawfully terminated by the Plateau State Government.

 

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecutor Barr. M.O .Tijani represented by Barr.G.I.Ndeh told the court that, Mr. Gideon Ngwen, was charged with three counts including criminal breach of trust and misappropriation, allegedly converting 100 clients’ settlement funds to his own personal use of the judgment debt paid into his account on behalf of the clients.

 

Responding to the allegations, counsel to the debtor /defendant,Barr. Gabriel Umah said the matter was slated for mention and they’re ready to proceed with the business of the day, we have been served with the application and we replied with a further and better affidavit.

 

According to him, they’ve filed for preliminary objections (P.O) dated 7th October 2021 and filed on 11th October 2021 which we seek your lordship order to withdraw the application and justice Christy’s Dabup stroke out the application.

 

Stressing that he moved the application dated 10-10-2021 and filed on the 28-10-2021 before the court notice of dated 27-10-2021 and filed 28-10-2021 seeking the order of this honourable court quash all the relief sought .We also have 26 ground that we are relying on P.O in support of the affidavit depot by Barr.Gideon Ngwen,ESq ,No 11 secretariat road Apolo crescent attached is 54 paragraphs affidavit and we shall be relying on all the averment contain.

 

He said accompanied the application is a written address and adopted the argument contain in the written address .We are serve with the counter affidavit and response we a further and better affidavit dated 3rd November, 2021 .

 

 

The lawyer said for EFCC to arraign his client with charges of misappropriation of N107million meant for about 100 clients, a statement by the commission didn’t wait for the outcome of the investigation, committee by Nigeria Bar Association, NBA , which made it unbiased.

 

The relationship between the client and lawyer is civil not criminal in nature, he submitted that the precondition that should have been followed that necessitated any statutory body’s had been met and that truncated the process that resulted solely on intimidation, harassment, and embarrassment of his client.

 

He urged the court to dismiss the application for lacking in merits while the creditors, plaintiff counsel told the court to discountenance the argument and uphold the oral submission and see the entire approach as baseless precarious imagination.

 

You recalled that ,Barr.Ngwen  was arraigned before C. L. Dabup of Plateau State High Court, Jos, on Monday.

 

 

Mr Ngwen was said to have served as a lawyer to the about 100 workers pro bono (free of charge) in prosecuting two suits they filed at the National Industrial Court, Jos Division, against the Plateau State Government to challenge the unlawful termination of their employment.

 

 

According to EFCC, the workers alleged that to their dismay, they discovered that the sum of N107million, which had been paid into the defendant’s United Bank for Africa Bank account, had been converted by him for personal use.

 

‘’That you, Gideon Ngwen (trading under the name and style of Gideon Ngwen & Co.) between 21st September 2017 and 8th July, 2018 at Jos, Plateau State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, converted to your own use the sum of N67, 540, 129. 57 (Sixty Seven Million, Five Hundred and Forty Thousand, One Hundred and Twenty Nine Naira, Fifty Seven Kobo) which was entrusted to him by the Plateau State Government as payment of arrears of salaries to David Musa Ayiki and 99 other staff of Plateau State Radio Television Corporation (PRTVC).”