Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II, has paid the benefits of four aged ex-security guards who worked with him but are being owed 29 months’ backlog of salaries since 2017.
In a message to National Record on Monday, human rights lawyers, Femi Aborisade said following the publication of an open letter to Ooni by the Punch newspaper the debt owed the former aged security guards had been deposited into his chambers account.
“I’m happy to inform you that pursuant to the publication of our open letter to the Ooni of Ife by The Punch, the N600k judgment debt owed the four aged ex-security officers has just been lodged into our chambers account for the benefit of the aged ex-security officers.”
Aborisade had, in the open letter to the Ooni, entitled “Open Letter to Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi over Disobedience to the Judgment of Court in NICN/IB/35/2018,” stated that four senior citizens were engaged as security guards at the Ibadan branch of Jamasco Industries Limited, a company in which the Ooni was a director.
The open letter, dated 1st July, 2022, reads: “We are solicitors to MR. KOLAWOLE FANIYI, MR. RASHEED AYANKEYE, MR. CHRISTOPHER ADEOLA AND MR. SEGUN ADEWALE, who are Judgment Creditors in the above stated suit and hereinafter referred to as our clients.
“In 2006, our clients were engaged by your company as the Ibadan Branch Security Guards of Jamasco Industries Limited, a company in which Your Royal Highness is a Director.
“Despite their dedication and hard-work, the N20,000 per month salary of MR. KOLAWOLE FANIYI and the N15,000.000 per month salaries of MR. RASHEED AYANKEYE, MR. CHRISTOPHER ADEOLA AND MR. SEGUN ADEWALE were not paid by your company for a period of 29 months (June 2015 – November 2017), this is despite their ceaseless demand for the payment of their outstanding salaries, via two letters written to both Jamasco Industries Limited and your good office by our Law Firm.
“Throughout year 2018, all efforts by our clients to collect their outstanding salaries from your company proved abortive. Consequently, our clients, through our Law Firm, instituted the above stated law suit against you and your company, among others. We did the matter absolutely pro bono (free of charge) because of the poor financial standing of our clients.
“During the pendency of the suit, parties agreed to an amicable settlement and proceeded to draw up terms of settlement. The terms of settlement was filed in the court and entered as a consent judgment of the court on 19/11/2020. The consent judgment provides among others, as follows:
“The Defendants shall pay to the Claimants, the sum of N600,000.00 (Six Hundred Thousand Naira Only) in three successive instalments, which payment shall be completed within 3months from the date this settlement is made the judgment of this Court”.
“Very unfortunately, as we write this open letter, this judgment has not been obeyed by you and your company, among other Judgment Debtors.
“Our aged clients, 75 years MR. KOLAWOLE FANIYI, 82 years MR. RASHEED AYANKEYE, 76 years MR. CHRISTOPHER ADEOLA AND 70 years MR. SEGUN ADEWALE, continue to languish in an unimaginable hardship. Now at their old ages, the hope of enjoying the fruits of their hard-earned labour while alive is under threat.
“Your Highness, the N600,000.00 involved meant a lot to our clients, while on the other hand, it is completely insignificant to the amount you donated to the University College Hospital in 2020, for the purpose of fumigation, and this was precisely the same year that the consent judgment was delivered.
“We hereby appeal to Your Highness to save the soul of our clients. Save them from dying of hunger and starvation by ensuring that the N600,000.00 mutually agreed to by parties is paid to our clients without further delay.
“TAKE NOTICE that apart from taking the case of our clients to the Court of the public, we shall adopt other lawful means to enforce the Judgment of the Court, if you continue to disobey the Judgment.”
Attached to the open letter is a copy of the consent judgement entered into and endorsed by the NIC on November 19, 2020. Read the judgement here.
https://nationalrecord.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Mr-Kolawole-Faniyi-3-ors-v-Jomasco-3-ors.pdf
