PDP special convention: Firm moves to jail Jonathan, Sambo, others Bona fide patentee of the transparent ballot boxes being used in the country for elections, Bedding Holdings Limited, has requested a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to join President Goodluck Jonathan and some other key members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in a contempt suit pending before it. Bedding Holdings Limited is inviting the court to grant its request on the account that President Jonathan and others allegedly used unlawfully the patented transparent ballot boxes for the party’s last special convention, without its consent. The firm is contending that all the key members of the PDP named as defendants in the case should be made to appear in court to explain why they must not be jailed for flouting its order, which clearly directed that anybody seeking to use the ballot boxes must get its consent. The application to join the President and others was filed for Bedding Holdings by its lawyer, John Okoriko, of the firm of Karina Tunyan & Co, following the earlier issuance of a Form 48 filed on September 4, on the alleged contemnors. The fresh application specifically seeks an order joining President Jonathan and seven others in ‘the contempt proceedings already commenced by plaintiff/applicant.’ They are the Vice-President, Namadi Sambo; Senate President, David Mark; Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal; the PDP and its Chairman, Bamanga Tukur. Others are Prof. Jerry Gana (who acted as the Chairman, PDP Special Convention Committee) and Senator Ken Nnamani (who was the Chairman, PDP Electoral Committee). The applicant argued that the application was informed by its realisation that the eight alleged contemnors were ‘necessary and desirable parties’ to the contempt proceedings. The company added that the ground on which it sought that Jonathan and others be joined in the contempt proceedings was that they ‘are serial contemnors, who contemptuously connived with the sixth and seventh defendants/ respondents, (the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and its Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega.)’ The firm said the all connived to use the applicant’s transparent ballot boxes for the PDP special convention in violation of a subsisting judgment of the court delivered on June 5, 2012 by Justice Adamu Bello. It also contended that except Jonathan and others were joined in the case, in view of ‘the pivotal role’ they played in the disobedience of a valid and subsisting court judgement, the contempt proceeding would not be ‘effectively and effectually determined.’ Bedding Holdings’ Group Executive Chairman, Chief Sylvester Odigie, said in a supporting affidavit, that his company had initiated the contempt proceedings against INEC and Jega on July 18, 2012 via a motion on notice seeking an order committing the two to prison, for their alleged contemptuous use of the ballot boxes for all the elections they have conducted since the June 5, 2012 judgement. He cited some of the elections for which the ballot boxes were used, without his company’s consent, to include the last governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States and other elections conducted subsequently by INEC. Justice Bello had in the judgment given in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/ CS/82/11 held among others, that the plaintiff, Bedding Holdings owns ‘valid and subsisting patent rights’ over transparent ballot boxes and electronic collapsible transparent ballot boxes being used for elections in the country. Specifically, the court upheld Bedding Holdings’ claim to being the bona fide patentee and the exclusive owner of the invention named ‘Transparent Ballot Boxes’ on which it was issued certificate of registration patent rights No. RP12994 and registration of industrial designs rights No. RD5946 by the Registrar of Patents on January 12, 1998. The court also upheld the subsequent certification of an improvement on the invention named ‘Electronic Collapsible Transparent Ballot Boxes’ (with certificate of registration of patent rights No. RP16642 and registration of industrial designs rights No. RD13841 issued on November 27, 2006 which are still valid. No date has been fixed for the hearing of the fresh application to join Jonathan and others.
Posted on: Thu, 12 Sep 2013 14:10:56 +0000
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