Justice J. D. Peters, of the National Industrial Court sitting in its Ibadan Division has ruled that Mr. Pretty Okafor is the authentic National President of the Performing Musicians’ Employers Association of Nigeria (PMAN).
The Judge also ordered a unification of all the factions and ruled that “PMAN under Pretty Okafor should not be interfered or tampered with by anyone or group of persons acting in whatever guise during the pendency of the regime from 6th February 2020 to 5th February 2024 and that Pretty Okafor and the NWC under his leadership should manage the affairs of PMAN for the next four years”.
Interestingly, the Court delivered this verdict, against Comrade Obi Okwudili Casmir’s (Uncle P Vambostic) faction who brought the case to court.
Not satisfied with the Justice Ogunbowale judgement, Comrade Okwudili Casmir, had gone to the National Industrial Court, to set aside the 6th February 2020 judgement in Suit No. NICN/IB/90/2019 between Sunny Neji & 7 Ors vs. Mr. Pretty Okafor & Anor, which anointed Mr. Okafor as the authentic PMAN President.
However, Justice Peters of the NIC, had shocked the Plaintiffs when he declared that the February 6, 2020 judgement obtained by the Pretty Okafor faction, “was not given under fraud and deceit, mistaken of fact, misrepresentation or non-disclosure of material facts, without proper authority and is accordingly not liable to and cannot therefore be set aside not being a nullity”.
The court also granted that “Pretty Okafor and other 10 persons named in the Consent Judgment in Suit No. NICN/IB/90/2019 between Sunny Neji & 7 Ors vs. Mr. Pretty Okafor & Anor are judicially empowered to constitute the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Performing Musicians’ Employers’ Association of Nigeria (PMAN) and shall have the power to direct, run and lead PMAN at the National level and to have supervisory power on PMAN’s State Chapters all over Nigeria for the period of four (4) years from the 6th day of February, 2020 to the 5th day of February, 2024”.
Other declarations by the NIC include, that “the Counter-Claimants’ (Pretty Okafor’s NWC) right to the management/leadership of PMAN cannot be interfered with by the Defendants to the Counter-Claim (Uncle P’s group) or any other persons whether named in the judgment or not during the subsistence of the extant Consent Judgment delivered by Honourable Justice Opeloye A. Ogunbowale on 6th day of February 2020”.
It also ruled that “Mr. Pretty Okafor and his 8-member team are judicially empowered to make up the NWC of PMAN immediately with the power to direct, run and lead the PMAN at the National level and to have supervisory power on PMAN’s State Chapters all over Nigeria”.
The court went ahead to state that “from 6/2/2020, the effective date of the Consent Judgment of Ogunbowale J, of the National Industrial Court, any National Working Committee of PMAN whether at the National or State level stood dissolved and the Defendants to the Counter-Claim (Uncle P and others) or any person holding himself/herself as the National President of PMAN, whether named or not ceased to hold themselves out as such”.
It concluded the matter by ordering that “the Defendants to the Counter-claim (Uncle P and others) or any other persons are perpetually restrained from parading themselves as President or members of the National Working Committee of PMAN”.
The NIC further shocked the Plaintiffs when it declared that “Comrade Obi Casmir (Uncle P) and other claimants in the suit do not have the locus standi (legal right) to set aside the consent judgment in Suit No. NICN/IB/90/2019 between Sunny Neji & 7 Ors vs. Mr. Pretty Okafor & Anor”, hence it went ahead to dismiss all the reliefs sought by the Claimants for being unmeritorious.
