Sacked BPE DG, Alex Okoh, faces 30-day jail-term for contempt of court

In a landmark judgement by Nigeria’s Supreme Court, Alex Okoh, the former Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), faces a 30-day imprisonment for contempt of court.

This outcome is a significant turn in the long-standing legal tussle over the ownership of the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON).

Okoh was recently sacked from his role as the DG of the BPE by President Bola Tinubu amid the country’s privatisation plan of its national assets.

How it all started
The background of this case traces back to a disputed privatisation process. The case involving Alex Okoh, former Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), which led to his 30-day prison sentence by the Supreme Court, has its roots in a prolonged legal dispute over the ownership of the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON). This dispute dates back several years and has seen various legal developments before reaching the apex court.

The controversy began with the privatization of ALSCON, where BFIGroup, a Nigerian-American consortium, emerged as the winning bidder in 2004. However, the BPE disqualified BFIGroup, leading to an extended legal battle. The Supreme Court, in a unanimous judgment in 2012, affirmed BFIGroup as the successful bidder for ALSCON, ordering the company to be transferred to the group.

Despite this directive, the BPE under Okoh’s leadership did not comply. This non-compliance led BFIGroup to approach the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking enforcement of the Supreme Court’s decision. In a ruling on December 17, 2019, the Federal High Court, presided over by Justice Anwuri Chikere, ordered Okoh to be remanded in prison for a minimum of 30 days for disobeying the Supreme Court’s order.

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Following this decision, Okoh and the BPE appealed to the Federal Court of Appeal, requesting a stay of the execution of the High Court’s judgment. However, two years later, the Appeal Court found Okoh and the BPE’s appeal lacking in substantive evidence and upheld the judgment of the Federal High Court.

The Supreme Court Judgment
Reading the lead judgment on Friday, Justice Tijani Abubakar criticized the BPE and Okoh for disobeying several orders issued on the matter, describing their actions as “scandalously shameful and disgraceful.”

He said:

“The above application leaves no one in doubt that the appellant disobeyed the other of this court, especially the order that restrained the appellants or their agents from reselling, negotiating, or transferring the company. This is a flagrant disobedience to the order of this court.
“Court orders are meant to be obeyed and must be obeyed. The appellants treated the order of this court with total disdain and disrespect. The conduct of the appellants is scandalously shameful and disgraceful.
“Agencies of government must respect the law. Nobody in this country is above the law. The appellants are not to choose the order of the court to obey or not. For this reason, I resolve the issues against the appellants.
“This appeal deserves to be dismissed and it is thereby dismissed. The judgment of the appeal court is affirmed. The cost of N10m is awarded against the appellants. The cost is to be paid personally by the second appellant (Okoh) in addition to going to prison.”
More Insights

The Supreme Court’s decision is not just about the imprisonment of a former public official; it represents a critical stance on the adherence to the rule of law in Nigeria, especially in high-stakes business transactions.

This series of legal proceedings demonstrates the judiciary’s commitment to uphold the rule of law and the sanctity of its decisions in Nigeria. The case, which eventually led to the Supreme Court upholding the 30-day imprisonment of Alex Okoh for contempt of court, highlights the importance of compliance with judicial orders by public officials and the potential consequences of non-compliance.