National Industrial Court resolves PMAN crisis, unites factions

The National Industrial Court, Ibadan Division has united all the factions of the Performing Musicians’ Employers Association of Nigeria (PMAN) under the presidency of Pretty Okafor.

Delivering judgment in a suit by way of Originating Summons brought by Obi Okwudili Casmir’s faction of the association, the National Industrial Court (NIC) presided over by Justice J. D. Peters, ordered that activities of 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 February 6, 2020, to February 5, 2024 and that Pretty Okafor and the National Working Committee (NWC) under his leadership should manage the affairs of PMAN for the next four years. The judgment further affirmed the judgment of Justice Ogunbowale handed down on February 6, 2020.

Deciding on the issues tabled for determination by parties, the court analysed and declared as follows:

That the Consent Judgment of Justice Opeloye A. Ogunbowale dated February 6, 2020, in Suit No. NICN/ IB/90/2019 between Sunny Neji & 7 Ors vs. Pretty Okafor & Anor was not given under fraud and deceit, mistaken of fact, misrepresentation or nondisclosure of material facts, without proper authority and is accordingly not liable to and cannot, therefore, be set aside not being a nullity.

That Suit No. NICN/ IB/90/2019 between Sunny Neji & 7 Ors vs. Pretty Okafor & Anor does not in any way constitute an abuse of court process.

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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. Pretty Okafor & Anor.

The court went ahead to dismiss all the reliefs sought by the claimants for being unmeritorious.

Having dealt with the case of the claimants (Obi Casmir and others), Justice Peters went on to consider and decide the counterclaim brought by Sunny Neji and 8 others and declared as follows:

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. Pretty Okafor & Anor are judicially empowered to constitute the 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 years from February 6, 2020, to February 5, 2024.

The declaration by the Justice Peters also includes 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 Justice Opeloye A. Ogunbowale on February 6, 2020.