N5trn highway breach: Court adjourns suit against FG to May 2

A Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned to May 2 the N5 trillion suit challenging the conversion of its original idea on the highway concession project in the country. Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon adjourned the matter to enable the defendants cross-examine the first witness in the matter, Kenneth Ibe-Kalu. The counsel to the Federal Ministry […]

A Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned to May 2 the N5 trillion suit challenging the conversion of its original idea on the highway concession project in the country.

Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon adjourned the matter to enable the defendants cross-examine the first witness in the matter, Kenneth Ibe-Kalu.

The counsel to the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Ezekiel Dairo Esq, informed the court that he was not prepared to conduct the cross-examination of the witness.

Ibe-Kalu had tendered through his lawyer, John Osegi Esq, documents on the National Transformation Tourists Centres (NTTC), a Letter of Endorsement, and a notice to produce documents, among others.

The suit was filed by Hugiano Embold Solutions Ltd and its MD/CEO, Kenneth Ibe-Kalu, against the Minister of Works and Housing, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, and the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC).

Other defendants are the Minister, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture; Federal Road Safety Commission; National Planning Commission; KPMG Advisory Services; Incorporated Trustees of Pan-Atlantic University Foundation (Lagos Business School); United Kingdom Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (United Kingdom Nigeria Infrastructural Advisory Facility Programme).

The organisation alleged that the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing infringed on his copyright, plagiarised and renamed the original design of the National Transformation Tourist Centres (NTTC) with the Highway Development and Management Initiative (HDMI).

Ibe-Kalu in his statement of claim averred that he designed the NTTC as a national development vision for the construction of tourist centres along corridors of all federal roads in Nigeria to be sited after every 100 kilometres along the 34,123 kilometres length of federal roads in Nigeria with a total of 340 centres.

He said before the project was hijacked, he raised the initial $15bn required to equip the centres with many departments such as hotels, pharmacy departments, commercial towing van centres and bedding highway clinics, among others.