Businessman seeks reassignment of suit against Eko Hotel to another judge

A Lagos businessman, Chief Solomon Nwadiogbu, has asked a Federal High Court, Lagos to reassign his case against the management of the Eko Hotel and Suites from the current judge, Justice Saliu Saidu, over alleged bias and lack of confidence.
   
The applicant filed the suit against the hotel over the alleged illegal seizure of his personal belongings valued at about N400m.
   
He claimed that the trial judge would frustrate the case marked FHC/L/CS/630/2019 by allegedly refusing to hear it, after almost a year of being assigned to him.

“The reason for this request is that the current presiding judge has occasioned several delays in the proceedings of this case by frequent adjournments and recently, by being absent.

“In the light of these circumstances, I humbly request that the case be transferred to another court to be presided over by another judge, so it can be determined expeditiously.”

According to the applicant, he was a long permanent guest at the Eko Hotel and Suites for six years between 2013 and 2019 and paid all his bills as and when due.

But the hotel he said, accused him of not paying his bills on foods in the hotel for six years, for which he issued a cheque of N20million and told them that he needs proof of their claims.

“After two days, his cheque was returned back to him on account that he should not bother himself with the allegation,” he stated, through his media adviser Fidelis Chukwuma.”

But to his surprise when he decided to move his cars out from the hotel premises, the hotel management prevented him, thereby stalling the removal of four cars belonging to his company and other properties worth over N400million on the account that he owed the hotel N18million.

Irked by the development, the businessman, approached a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos and filed his case with all documental pieces of evidence.” 

“But amusingly, since April 2019 till date, the case with Suit No. FHC/L/CS/630/2019 has not been put up for hearing and has continued to suffer several baseless adjournments by the assigned Judge for the case,” he alleged.