Messy CDHR Crisis: Kehinde Taiga-led CDHR Drags Falana, Obayuwana To Court

Leadership crisis rocking the foremost rights group, Committee for Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) has taken a new dimension as Comrade (Dr) Kehinde Taiga-led CDHR exco have filed a suit at Benin High Court over alleged constitutional breaches and financial impropriety against some prominent members of the organization.

In a writ of summons issued by the court, dated August 31, 2021, with suit number; B/789/2021, Comrade Kehinde Taiga, James Chikwendo, Barr. Violet Ekumankama, Gerald Katchy and Ayuba Musa, are listed as the claimants while Dr. Osagie Obayuwana, Comrade Sola Kolawole, (purportedly suspended national President and treasurer respectively) and Barr. Femi Falana, the Chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT) whose tenure was said to have expired were mentioned as the 1st, 2rd, 3rd defendants respectively.

The five (5) Claimants are praying the court among others things a declaration that the election conducted in the Edo branch of CDHR by the suspended national President, Dr Obayuwana, is null and void.

The Claimants are also seeking an order of court restraining Dr. Obayuwana from parading himself as the national President of CDHR having been suspended from the organisation by the NEC and confirmed by the national council of the body.

An order of court restraining the 2nd Defendant from parading himself as the national Treasurer of the body having been suspended from the organisation by the national Council was also pleaded.

The Claimants further pray the court for an  order restraining the 3rd Defendant Barr. Femi Falana SAN, from acting beyond his powers as a member/Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BOT) as his 3 years mandate to act had expired going by the CDHR constitution.

The summon also contained a prayer directing the 1st and 2nd Defendants to refund to the body the sum of N5m and 1500 small bags and 50 big bags of rice being the sum of money and gifts of rice to the 1st and 2nd defendants by the late T.B Joshua Synagogue Church of All nation in December 2020 for a d on behalf of CDHR which were not accounted for till date.

Also an order directing the 1st and 2nd defendants to give account of the rents collected from the CDHR building situated at No. 43 Adeniyi Jones, Ikeja, Lagos state, at the annual rent of N3.6m per annum from 2019 -2021.

The Claimants also requested a court injunction restraining the defendants by themselves or their agents or privies from causing divisions and serious disorder in the CDHR in Nigeria among other prayers.

It would be recalled that the body had been polarised along leadership line since last year when the Edo branch allegedly passed a vote of no confidence on the National President, Dr. Osagie Obayuwana, for allegedly manipulating the state election and imposing an unpopular candidate as the state Chairman and consequently suspended him at the state level.

This suspension was later ratified at the national level by members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) and confirmed by its national Council who also held other allegations of highhandness in the running of CDHR’s affairs as well as alleged financial misappropriations against him at the same time.