Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, President of the Court of Appeal and Chairman of the Incorporated Trustees of IBB International Golf and Country Club, have been dragged before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court over the appointment of Dongban-Mensem as chairman by the minister.
Also named as defendants by plaintiffs, Ubong Akpan, Tijani Abdulsalam Ogueyi, and Olalere Babasola are club captain Ibrahim Babayo; secretary Bola Aliyu‑Faniyan; the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC); and Chief Joe Kyari‑Gadzama (SAN).
Filed ex parte on April 14, the plaintiffs are asking the court for an interim injunction to bar the named defendants from submitting Wike’s appointees to the Board of Trustees for approval and registration under the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 until the motion on notice is heard.
They are also seeking to prevent the Trustees, led by Appeal Court President Justice Dongban‑Mensem and club captain Ibrahim Babayo, from chairing or moderating the IBB Golf Club’s Annual General Meeting, slated for April 26 (or any rescheduled date), pending the outcome of the substantive suit.
The order is also seeking to restrain Justice Dongban-Mensem and other trustees appointed by the FCT Minister and their proxies and representatives from assuming office or parading themselves as BoT members pending the determination of motion on notice.
The presiding judge, Justice Nwite, after hearing the pleas of the applicants, represented by Abdulaziz Ibrahim (SAN), ordered that the defendants be put on notice and adjourned the hearing of the motion on notice till April 22, 2025.
In a deposed affidavit, Akpan, a bona fide and financial member of IBB Golf Club, said the club is a registered entity with the CAC as an incorporated trusteeship and operated by a constitution that governs its daily operations.
Attached to the affidavit as Exhibit F was a copy of the minutes from the meeting held on April 27, 2024. During this meeting, resolutions were passed regarding the appointment of trustees and the amendment of the club’s constitution, including a directive for its registration with Gadzama, the 6th defendant.
Testifying in court, he stated that the IBB International Golf and Country Club must be governed by incorporated trustees, either elected or appointed by its members, by the club’s constitution and the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020.
He noted that there was no record of an Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting where Justice Dongban-Mensem and other members of the incorporated trustees were elected or appointed, as required under Clause 6.2 of Exhibit C2 — the club’s existing constitution.
He also informed the court that the FCT Administration, in 2011, issued a Certificate of Occupancy to the club. This certificate was signed by the then Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, and was formally delivered to the club by the then FCT Permanent Secretary, John Chukwu.
