A Rivers State High Court Judge, Justice Lesi Wifa-Adedipe has recused herself from a fundamental Right suit involving, Ernest Omuso-Ibiama as plaintiff and Saipem Contracting Nigeria Ltd as respondent.Saipem company is facing allegations of unlawful detention and breach of fundamental human rights.

The plaintiff, Omuso-Ibiama, the Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of Tamson International Services Ltd, a contractor who had a specialized contract with Saipem, claimed that he was unjustifiably held hostage within the company’s premises on Aka Road in Obio-Akpor Council of the state from November 29 to December 2, 2024.

At the hearing of the matter on Tuesday, the plaintiff’s counsel, Lawrence Oko-Jaja SAN, requested that the judge recuse herself from the case, citing a potential conflict of interest due to her previous representation of Saipem in a separate matter two years ago before becoming a judge.

Justice Wifa-Adedipe, in her ruling, graciously agreed to recuse herself, saying her court could not hear the matter and the case file would be returned to the Chief Judge to be reassigned to another judge.

Speaking to journalists outside the courtroom, the plaintiff’s counsel, Oko-Jaja said: “When this matter came up, I thought she should recuse herself from handling the matter and graciously she agreed that this is a matter which she cannot handle, having appeared on behalf of Saipem just about two years ago in a matter involving both of us, so that’s why I asked that she recuse herself and she did so.”

Oko-Jaja, however, explained that the contractor had been provided with accommodation within Saipem’s premises as part of his contract.

However, upon termination of the contract, the contractor was refused exit, with Saipem citing concerns about potential altercations with individuals outside the premises. Oko-Jaja described the reason as “untenable” stating that altercations are a common occurrence and do not justify detaining someone against their will.

He said the plaintiff’s attempts to leave the premises were repeatedly rebuffed, prompting his lawyers to involve the police.

He added that it was with the assistance of a team of policemen that the contractor was eventually allowed to leave the premises.

However, Oko-Jaja argued that the contractor’s fundamental rights as a Nigerian citizen were breached, prompting the lawsuit against Saipem.

As part of their demands, the plaintiff is seeking a public apology from Saipem, to be published in newspapers, as well as compensation for general damages for the alleged breach of his fundamental rights.

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