ICAN Members Set To Drag Institute To Court Over Disputed Election Rule

– Members cry foul over third-party payment ban, seek High Court injunction

By Temitope Adeyemi, Legal Correspondent

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) is at the centre of a brewing legal storm following the issuance of controversial election guidelines that could bar numerous members from voting in the upcoming 2025 council elections.

In a formal pre-action notice dated 23 May and addressed to the ICAN Registrar, the law firm Abimbola & Abimbola, acting on behalf of Mr [Name Withheld] and a coalition of affected members, challenged the legality of a new directive which prohibits the payment of annual membership fees via third parties in an election year.

Describing the guideline as “illegal, unconstitutional, and ultra vires”, the solicitors argued that it is inconsistent with the ICAN constitution, codified in Chapter 185 of the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

“Our clients are troubled by the lack of constitutional authority for such a sweeping restriction,” wrote A.J. Arinze, Esq., the lead counsel.

“This directive appears designed to disenfranchise legitimate members from exercising their constitutional right to vote in the ICAN elections scheduled for Tuesday, 27 May 2025.

”The legal notice further demands that ICAN provide specific statutory backing for the controversial clause and cease enforcement immediately. Failing a satisfactory response by 1:30 p.m. today, the claimants intend to approach the High Court for an injunction and other reliefs.

Claimants seek immediate court protection

The members are preparing to seek:A declaration that the guideline is void and unconstitutional; An interim and interlocutory injunction restraining ICAN from implementing the directive; A ruling affirming members’ right to pay fees via any lawful means, including by proxy, friend, employer, or association; An order of perpetual injunction barring ICAN from delisting members over such payments; And ₦10 million in damages for emotional distress caused by the publication and enforcement threat.

The notice cites the “Supreme Court decision in Ojukwu v. Governor of Lagos State (1985) 2 NWLR (Pt 10) as a caution against executive overreach and unilateral action pending judicial review.

Awaiting ICAN’s response

As at the time of going to press, ICAN had not issued an official statement on the matter. However, sources within the institute indicate the new rule has caused internal concern, particularly with less than a week to the council elections.

Legal experts say the case, if filed, could have far-reaching implications for how professional bodies in Nigeria regulate internal elections and member participation.

“This dispute goes beyond procedure,” noted Dr A. O. Okoye, a lecturer in corporate law. “It touches on constitutional rights, transparency, and the democratic integrity of professional associations.”

The High Court filing is expected if no response is received before the deadline. Members are watching closely to see whether ICAN will revise its stance or face a protracted legal battle.

By Joseph Okechukwu

@GazetteNGR You do know you’ve just gotten yourself into serious trouble with this publication, right? This is so shameful. And to think that I have, on a few occasions shared your posts! Journalism should be about integrity not brown envelopes and bringing people down with falsehood.

There’s a court order restraining Sagecom, your client and or anyone from publishing any material in the media as this matter is still pending in court. But you guys have rushed to publish this utter falsehood and misled others who went along with it. I hope Fidelity Bank sues the hell out of you guys, to set an example.

For crying out loud, this is a case that’s more than 20 years old and still hasn’t been summarily resolved.

For people who may not know, what happened is, FSB – remember that bank? Yea, FSB bank granted a credit facility (loan) in the amount of $3 million to G. Cappa in 2002. Remember G. CAPPA – the now dead construction company that once held sway in Nigeria? G. Cappa secured the loan with mortgage on a property located in Ikoyi (their collateral)

Incidentally, G. Cappa defaulted on the loan – they couldn’t pay. In a bid to prevent FSB bank from selling the mortgaged property to repay the loan, G. Cappa ran to Lagos High Court, seeking to restrain the bank from selling the property. That case almost went cold and remained in court with no hope of judgement. As the case lingered, in 2005, FSB Bank sold G. Cappa’s mortgaged property to Sagecom, to retrieve the $3 million the company borrowed from it. Around that same period in 2005, during the bank capitalization process in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank acquired MANNY Bank and FSB Bank, same bank embroiled in this case. Automatically, they inherited the case that looked very easy on the surface, given that the bank did what every bank could’ve done.

So, in 2011, about 9 years later and just six years after Fidelity took over the bank, judgement was given in the G. Cappa case that had lingered for so long. In that judgement, the court exonerated the bank saying it “rightfully sold the leased interest in the property to Sagecom.” But the problem is that the court did not order vacant possession, so G. Cappa still kept the property, collecting rent on it and making money off of it, from the time that it was sold to Sagecom to the time of giving judgement in 2011. Sagecom to whom the property was legally sold never had access.

For this reason, Sagecom instituted action against the bank and G. Cappa because it was not allowed to take possession of what has been sold to it. Good case, but truly, it is G. Cappa that should pay Sagecom for damages and not the bank (FSB) now Fidelity. The bank is only joined in the breach of contract case because the bank is the seller. And that’s why Sagecom joined the bank.

In 2018, the Lagos High Court awarded judgement in favor of Sagecom against G. Cappa and the Bank. Judgement was challenged by the Supreme Court because the bank rightly held that G. Cappa orchestrated all the losses that Sagecom had suffered and should be charged solo. And it makes a lot of sense, given that the bank did what was within its right, as was upheld by the court.

Sadly, G. Cappa, the company at the center of all these, suddenly went into receivership (it went bankrupt and was now being taken over). So the bank tried to appeal the judgement severally but later decided to just settle its own obligation of the liability.

The question then arose, what is the value of the liability to G. Cappa and the Bank? As a guide, in the case of Anibaba vs. Dana Airlines Limited delivered in January of 2025, the Supreme Court clarified that foreign currency judgement debt must be converted to Naira at the exchange rate obtainable at the date of the judgement of the trial court, which in this case is 30 January, 2018. Now, if you apply the Supreme Court – supported 2018 exchange rate, the judgement debt rate will be a little less than N30.7 billion – the amount that G. Cappa and the Bank now legally owe Sagecom.

The so called N225 billion came from calculating with present day exchange rate in 2025, which isn’t the way it should be done, especially given the recorded incidence of a similar case between Anibaba and Dana Airlines Limited, as recently as January 2025! Imagine expecting to go home with 225 billion Naira for $3 million investment for which you were denied access but later reclaimed. That’s an absurdity taken too far and this is why Gazette should have been wiser with their rush to publish.

As a matter of fact, the bank even applied to the court for further clarification on what should be paid by the bank and how much G. Cappa should bear out of the calculated liability sum. After this application, the court consequently ordered Sagecom to maintain status quo pending determination of pending motions, and restrained Sagecom and all persons, including bloggers like People Gazette from publishing any material in the media as the matter is still pending in court. So basically, what this means, according to Fidelity Bank, is that People Gazette and other platforms that carried the FAKE NEWS have published falsehood and violated a court order, for which Fidelity Bank is now seeking legal redress. I have attached the court order below.

Fidelity Bank is one of the best performing banks in Nigeria today. In 2021 Fidelity Bank went from N38.1 billion in Profit Before Tax (PBT) – a 35.7% growth in profit to a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of N105.8 billion, representing an impressive 167.8% growth in the first quarter of 2025 alone! That is not to talk about their expansion into London with the acquisition of Union Bank London, and moves currently underway to expand into a few African countries.

This is the bank that gave us Air Peace Airlines through their foundational partnership, when no one else could’ve done it.

This is a bank that took share prices from a single digit of N9 to about N20 in just a year! This is even more exciting because the bank is recording all these gigantic strides under a woman. Fidelity went from average to now an indisputable Tier 1 bank, and they’ve been fighting so hard to bring it down. Otherwise, why would People Gazette publish an outright falsehood on a matter that’s still pending in court, just to cause panic and sow doubts in people. This is the second or third time I have now had to respond to a malicious attack to bring Fidelity Bank down in Nigeria. Rest assured that we know what the plan is, so stop already.

Happy to see that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has stepped in to debunk the Fake News. CBN reaction attached below as well.

There is a new twist in the Agbere Amananaowei Contest with one of the contestants Mr. Ekpodowem Abidde writing a letter to the Chairman of The  Electoral Committee of Agbere Community seeking the disqualification of the two other candidates, High Chief Reid Aladei and Chief Julius Torunariagha.

According to Abide, the two candidates, High Chief Reid Aladei and Chief Julius Torunariagha, have violated the Electoral Guidlines of Agbere Amananaowei Election, which was duly signed by the chairman Dr Tareala Nikade and  secretary Barrister Dr. Kelvin Enokie Bribena  respectively.

The said violated section clearly stated that anyone who is indebted to the community or has a dispute with the community is not eligible to contest for the Stool of Amananaowei of Agbere.

A check by our correspondent, showed that item “×” in the electoral guidelines showed clearly that a candidate must not be indebted to the community, while item “xiv” states that a candidate must not be in dispute with the community.

Also sighted in page 12, section 2.1.3.2 subsection iii of the Constitution of Agbere Community, It states that a candidate stands inelligible to contest the Agbere Amananaowei Election if he is indebted to the community.

Our correspondent spoke to a prominent indegene of Agbere Community, who pleaded anonymity, said the body language of the Chairman of the Electoral Committee showed bias for a particular candidate (name withheld).

And he also said the constitution and electoral guidelines are very unambiguous and explicit and expectation is for the Electoral Committee to do the needful and disqualify erring candidates and go ahead to declare Mr. Ekpodowem Abidde as Amananaowei Elect in accordance with section 2.1.4 subsection iii which clearly states “that a candidate for the election to the office shall be deemed to duly elected to such office, where being the only candidate nominated for the election.”

Meanwhile, a peace committee has been instituted and it is led by High Chief Ebikiri Akpolor, ” the peace committee is working to resolve all the grievances leading to the suspension of the Electoral Processes.”