Court Sacks Seplat CEO Over Allegations Of Racism, Favouritism

Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos has restrained the chief executive officer (CEO) of Seplat Energy Plc, Roger Brown, from parading himself as the firm’s CEO, pending the determination of a suit instituted against him and others by some aggrieved stakeholders of the company.

The stakeholders had dragged Brown before the court over allegations of racism, favouring of expatriate workers, discrimination against Nigerians and breach of good governance.

Justice Aneke also restrained the chairman of the Board of Directors of the company, Basil Omiyi, and all the 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 petitioners’ motion on notice for an interlocutory injunction.

The judge gave the orders while ruling on a Motion Exparte brought by the stakeholders.
The applicants/petitioners in the suit are Moses Igbrude, Sarat Kudaisi, Kenneth Nnabike, Ajani Abidoye and Robert Ibekwe while Seplat Energy Plc, Mr Roger Thompson Brown, and Mr Basil Omiyi are listed as the respondents in suit marked FHC/L/402/2023.

Also, while delivering ruling on a separate ex parte application, Justice Aneke granted the petitioners/applicants leave to serve the petition, the order of the court, and all other processes to be issued subsequently in the matter on Brown and Omiyi by pasting in the premises of Seplat Energy located in Ikoyi area of the state.

He then adjourned the matter to March 23, 2023, for the hearing of the pending application.