MIDWEEK BRUNCH with TONY OKOROJI MALAMIGATE – HOW THE MCSN SYNIDICATE INFILTRATED JUSTICE IBRAHIM BUBA’S RESIDENCE

MIDWEEK BRUNCH with TONY OKOROJI

MALAMIGATE – HOW THE MCSN SYNIDICATE INFILTRATED JUSTICE IBRAHIM BUBA’S RESIDENCE

In Saturday Breakfast of December 30, 2017, I told the bizarre tale of how the MCSN syndicate led by one Mayowa Ayilaran made sure that they twice aborted the attempt by Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court, Lagos, to deliver judgment in Suit No FHC/L/CS/1259/2017 in which the syndicate is a defendant alongside the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami.

The judgment on a critical matter that has gripped the music industry was first scheduled to be delivered on December 6, 2017. When everyone was seated in the court room, an angry Justice Buba announced that the MCSN syndicate had on the eve of the judgment circulated a petition against him. This was clearly to arm twist him. He thereafter announced that ‘come rain, come sunshine’ he would deliver the judgment on December 14.

Did Justice Buba deliver the judgment on December 14 as he promised? For where? On December 14, the Honourable Justice Ibrahim Buba announced in open court that the case file had been taken from him and he had no choice but to adjourn the case sine die. In other words, no one knows when the judgment will be delivered if it will ever be delivered.

A proper audit of cases at the Federal High Court will reveal that the MCSN syndicate has by far more cases in the court than any other organization in the history of Nigeria. The litany of cases includes seven criminal cases before Justice Mojisola Olateregun Ishola, Justice Babatunde Kwewumi and Justice Abdulazeez Anka all at the Federal High Court, Lagos. The syndicate has become the master of the manipulation of the Nigerian judicial system to escape justice. In the same manner, they have a litany of cases at the Court of Appeal. They have become experts at the use of one case to kill another, thereby turning the courts of justice into courts of injustice.

The schemes of the MCSN syndicate to manipulate justice know no bounds. Not long ago, the syndicate quietly began trailing Justice Ibrahim Buba before whom seven of their officials were facing criminal trial. Eventually, they discovered the Lagos residence of the judge who had no idea that his life may in fact be in danger. Quietly, they got one Louis Udoh, the second in command to Mayowa Ayilaran, the MCSN henchman, to infiltrate the residence of Justice Buba. Craftily, Louis Udoh began to make friends with everyone in the judge’s residence. Udoh showed up regularly for meals and watched football with the unsuspecting family. On one occasion, when Buba’s driver did not show up, Udoh offered to drive Justice Buba before whose court he was personally facing a criminal trial!

Did I make this story up? No! A very alarmed Justice Buba disclosed this in open court upon recognizing Lous Udoh in the dock in his court!

This is the syndicate that the Attorney-General of the Federation & Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, directed the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) to approve as a collecting society to collect copyright royalties on behalf of innocent Nigerian musicians despite the strong protestations of the NCC.

In the subsequent purported approval of MCSN on the orders of the AGF, there was no application in the prescribed form as required by law. In fact, there was no application of any type. There was no payment to the Federal Government of the application fee of N250,000 as required by law. There was no document submitted for the NCC to scrutinize as required by law. There was no process not to talk about due process.
The key question Justice Buba was scheduled to answer in the aborted judgment is this: Under Nigerian law, is the syndicate, Musical Copyright Society Nigeria (MCSN) truly an approved collecting society and authorized to collect money on behalf of innocent Nigerian musicians?

They did not want that question answered hence the muscling of Justice Ibrahim Buba. I have no idea what decision Justice Buba would have come to. What I know is that all the parties have a right to go to the Court of Appeal if any of us is dissatisfied with the judgment.

It is now well known that at the same time that Justice Buba was being harassed, a strange coup was hatched to quickly get rid of me as Chairman of COSON. They have followed this up by peddling so much falsehood about me. They think that I will be frightened and abandon the matter. They are kidding.

I am calling on all self-respecting Nigerian lawyers and the judges in the Nigerian legal system to insist that the case file in Suit No FHC/L/CS/1259/2017 be returned to Justice Ibrahim Buba so that he can deliver judgment in the case as he deems fit. After that, anyone dissatisfied with the judgment can go to the Court of Appeal. No one should be allowed to truncate the rule of law in Nigeria. The consequences are huge.

Tell me, if these people are allowed to get away with this, what will they do next? With a bible in my hand, I swore to defend the rights of the Nigerian creative community. Nobody will stop me from doing that.

See you on Saturday.