A crowd of protesters has stormed the premises of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos to protest what they termed judicial bias in the handling of a lawsuit filed by Western Lotto Limited, belonging to Senator Buruji Kashamu.
In the case being handled by Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke, Western Lotto Limited sued 23 rival lottery firms over alleged infringement on its licence on “Ghana games”.
One of the defendants is Premier Lotto Limited, popularly known as Baba Ijebu Gaming Limited, belonging to Chief Keshington Adebutu.
December last year, following an application by Western Lotto legal team, Justice Aneke had made an antom piller order, authorising Western Lotto to enter into and search the offices of the defendants for evidence of the alleged infringement on its licence on “Ghana games”.
The judge also dismissed the defendants’ preliminary objection, challenging the court’s jurisdiction and seeking to set aside the antom piller order.
Reacting to the protest, Managing Director, Western Lotto Limited, Dr. Olumide Adedeji noted that the protest been sponsored by other Lotto Firm is aim to stall the out-of-court settlement between Western Lotto and the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) so that they can continue to illegally sell the Ghana games and short-changing of the Federal Government.
“It is surprising why some economic saboteurs and rent-seekers would want to smear people’s names in their desperate bid to continue their open robbery of the system while pretending to be legitimate businessmen and philanthropists.
“We wish to state that there is no law that forbids parties in a dispute from reaching an out-of-court settlement as far as it concerns them”
Dr. Adedeji emphasised that the out-of-court settlement between the Western Lotto and the NLRC is in line with the provisions of the National Lottery Act, 2005, as amended in 2017.
He pointed out the settlement is in the best interest of all stakeholders, the Federal Government, owners of the games, operators, agents and stakers, as against what used to be the practice where a mafia was unjustly favoured.
Meanwhile, hearing in the matter is scheduled for tomorrow.
The first and second defendants in the suit are the National Lottery Regulation Commission and Registrar of Trademarks.
The Premier Lotto Limited is the third of the 23 lottery firms also joined as defendants.
