The Osun State Government has filed an application to the Federal High Court, Lagos for the setting aside of the ex-parte order made on September 9 of this year for not only being procured by deceit and concealment of material facts by Gamji Nigeria Company Limited, but also for myriads of reasons, which include the fact that the said order does not accord with public policy.
The application for setting aside the order was filed before the Federal High Court on 2nd October 2026.
In a statement issued on Sunday and signed by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, the State Government submitted that just as the court order was a product of deceit and substantial non-disclosure of material facts to the Court, the arbitration award it sought to enforce was also fraught with several irregularities which had prompted the State Government’s legal team to approach the High Court of Lagos State to set aside the Award.
In fact, it was reported that the purported Award which the ex-parte order of 9th September 2026 referenced does not exist as there was no Arbitral Award made against the State Government in July 2024.
The only Arbitral Award against the State Government was in July 2026, and the said Award is presently being challenged before the Lagos State High Court by the State Government’s legal team.
Narrating the historical genesis of the case, the statement noted that the 2017 contract dispute started under the former Oyetola administration which denied a variation request by Gamji particularly as it relates to whether the Osun State Government was indebted to Gamji Nigeria Company to the tune of $15,982,638.22 (Fifteen Million, Nine Hundred and Eighty-Two Thousand, Six Hundred and Thirty-Eight US Dollars and Twenty-Two Cents) or not.
According to the State Government, the matter proceeded for arbitration which was deliberately mismanaged and handled to favour Gamji Nig. Co. Ltd., while denying the State Government fair hearing and full participation in the arbitration process as mandated by best practice in the arbitration process.
The irregularities that characterized the arbitration proceedings and the Final Arbitral Award are matters which have been submitted by the State Government to the High Court sitting in Lagos State.
According to the Honourable Commissioner for Information, the Counsel to the State Government had filed the suit to set aside the Arbitral Award at the Lagos State High Court since the 1st day of September 2026 – prior to the time when Gamji Nig. Co. Ltd. surreptitiously approached the Federal High Court to deceitfully procure an ex-parte order.
Alongside the originating motion used to commence the suit in Lagos State, a motion on notice was equally filed to suspend the execution of the Award until the suit is heard and determined. Both the originating motion and the motion on notice were duly served on Gamji and its Counsel, as such they were fully aware that the Award was being challenged by the State Government.
To the greatest chagrin of the Osun State Government and its legal team, Gamji Nig. Co. Ltd., despite being in receipt of the originating motion and motion on notice filed before the Lagos State High Court to suspend execution of the Award, furtively approached the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos State to enforce the Award – the same Award that was being challenged by the State Government’s legal team before a Court of competent jurisdiction.
Gamji Nig. Co. Ltd., when it approached the Federal High Court, failed to disclose the fact that the validity of the Award was being challenged at the Lagos State High Court or that it was served with an application to suspend any action aimed at executing the said Award until the suit challenging the award was heard and determined.
The motion on notice to set aside the order of September 9 has been duly presented before the Court, and the deceptive ploy of Gamji Nig. Co. Ltd. has been relayed to the Federal High Court. Since the matter is still sub judice, the State Government refrains from making any prejudicial comments on the merit of the case.
The Osun State Government wishes to reassure the public that necessary legal action is ongoing to vacate the order and ensure the due right of the State is observed by judicial review of the Arbitration Award.
Signed:
Oluomo Kolapo Alimi,
Hon Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment
