Odeyemi Floors Alao, BBT As Court Restores 22 Years Denied Shares, Dividends

Respite finally came the way of a British-Nigerian, who is also an Information Technology Architect based in the United Kingdom, Mr. Samuel Bode Odeyemi, when the courts gave him victory against Blueprint Business Technologies (BBT), a Lagos based IT company, and its owner, Mr Saheed Alao, in a long-drawn case of indebtedness, and refusal to pay.

As all attempts to reach a consensus fell short and proved unsuccessful, legal representatives from Gaffar & Gaffar were engaged, and numerous correspondences were made to him, but they were consistently ignored. Even at that, the legal team and the claimant continued to express their willingness to engage in mediation to settle the matter amicably, but all unfortunately, were rebuffed.

The matter, which was brought to court through an originating summon, dated and filed 29/6/2022, where Odeyemi, as the claimant, commenced his suit against Alao and BBT as the defendants, seeking interpretation of the relevant provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, took its root in 2001, and by omissions and deliberate distortions of law and order, lingered till October 13, 2023 when legal process brought everything to favorable conclusion.

Delivering the landmark judgment in the Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos, the presiding judge, Justice Akintayo Aluko, noted that the contention of the claimant is that the 2nd Defendant in his capacity as the Managing Director of the 1st Defendant converted the sum of £20,000 and £19,000, he invested in the 1st Defendant into 210,000 and 199,500 shares in the 1st Defendant in 2003 and 2004. The claimant relied on exhibits A, A1, A2, A3, A4, A6 and A7 to substantiate his claims.

The judge also ruled that the claim of the claimant (Bode Odeyemi) that he invested £39,000 in the 1st defendant’s company (BBT) which entitled him to ownership of 406, 500 seem unassailable, and can be said to have been sufficiently proved by credible evidence.

While the Defendants, BBT and Alao, could not successfully controvert the evidence of the claimant, Odeyemi, they were only able to corroborate and substantially admit to the evidences provided.

The judge, therefore, agreed with the claimant that the claims as endorsed in the originating summons fall into the category of actions that can be said to have arisen from the Companies and Allied Matters Act or any other enactment replacing the Act or regulating the operations of companies incorporated under CAMA…

Aluko thereafter awarded N5 million in general damages in favour of Odeyemi to be paid by the duo of Alao and BBT as defendants, in addition to the cost of action in the sum of N200,000 also awarded to Odeyemi.

Odeyemi was also granted the privilege of gaining interest on judgment sum at the rate of 10% to be paid by the Defendants until final liquidation.

With the October 13 victory in court for Odeyemi, it is believed that a foreclosure has been achieved, and all parties are therefore, expected to give undiluted respect to the rule of law.