Alleged Racism: Court Bars Seplat CEO From Management Functions

A federal high court in Lagos has restrained Roger Brown, chief executive officer (CEO) of Seplat Energy Plc, from carrying out his official duties pending the determination of a suit.

The presiding judge, Chukwujekwu Aneke gave the ruling in response to a motion ex parte filed on Wednesday.

The suit was instituted against Brown and other respondents by aggrieved stakeholders of the company over allegations of racism, favouring of expatriate workers, discrimination against Nigerians, and breach of good governance.

Moses Igbrude, Sarat Kudaisi, Kenneth Nnabike, Ajani Abidoye, and Robert Ibekwe are the defendants in suit no. FHC/L/402/2023 against the respondents, which are Seplat Energy, Brown, and Basil Omiyi, chairman, board of directors, Seplat.

The court restrained Brown as well as his proxies, privies, and agents from continuing to participate in the “day-to-day running and management of Seplat Energy or in any manner whatsoever pending the determination of [the] hearing and determination of the petitioners’ motion on notice for interlocutory injunction”.

It also restrained Omiyi, as well as all independent non-executive directors under him from “continuing to run the affairs of Seplat in an illegal, unfair, prejudicial, and oppressive manner pending the hearing and determination of the petitioner’s motion on notice for interlocutory injunction”.

Meanwhile, following a separate ex parte application, Aneke equally granted leave to the petitioners to serve the petition, any order of court, and all other processes to be issued subsequently in the matter on Brown and Omiyi “by pasting (sic) in the premises of Seplat Energy located at Ikoyi, Lagos”.

The court subsequently adjourned the suit to March 23, 2023, for hearing on the pending application.