Breach Of Contract: Prof. Files N100m Suit Against Late Innocent Chukwuma’s Wife

Breach Of Contract: Prof. Files N100m Suit Against Late Innocent Chukwuma’s Wife

An Associate Professor and Director of the Institute of African Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, Professor Nduka Otiono has dragged Mrs. Josephine Effah-Chukwuma, wife of a renowned human rights activist and former Regional Director of Ford Foundation, late Innocent Chukwuma before a Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) High Court of Lagos, over alleged breach of contract.

Also joined as second defendant in the suit numbered LD/10395GCMW/2023, is the Pan-Atlantic University.

The claimant, in the suit filed by his lawyer, Chief Uche C. Ihediwa (SAN), prayed the court for a declaration that the first defendant breached the terms of the contract when she failed to approve the manuscript within 30 days, the Biography of her late husband, titled “Possibilities Unlimited – A Biography of late Innocent Chukwuma”

He also urged that court to declare the defendants’ letter of dated May 8, 2023 purporting to terminate the contract between the parties as wrongful, illegal, null and void.

During the proceedings on Tuesday, Chief Uche C. Ihediwa (SAN), a former Abia State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice appeared for the claimant while, Uche Ego-Osuala appeared for the defendants.

Addressing the court, Chief Ihediwa (SAN) urged the court to adjourn the suit to enable the defendants respond to the processes filed by his client, and for hearing of the preliminary objections filed by the defendants.

Consequently, Justice Olabisi Ogungbesan after hearing from defence counsel adjourned the matter till June 28 for hearing of preliminary objection.

The applicant his statement of claims, stated that  around mid-2021, the first defendant (and representatives of the Ford Foundation, West Africa) approached him, and offered him a ghost-writer proposal through a Request for Proposal document.

The Claimant stated that he strongly resisted the idea of offering his services of biographer as a ghost-writer and insisted he would rather take professional fees for the work and retain his moral right as the author of the biography while the first defendant takes all the financial returns from the book as she proposed.

The Claimant averred that on or about November 2021, he negotiated a contract with the Defendants to write a 75—100,000 Biography of late Innocent Chukwuma – titled “Possibilities Unlimited – A Biography of late Innocent Chukwuma”

He stated that executing the assignment involved engagement of assistants, extensive travel within and outside Nigeria, research, and analysis of materials on late Innocent Chukwuma’s life and times, reviewing the work of the deceased, conducting several interviews, identification of contributions to civil society, criminal justice reform, youth and women rights, among others.

The Claimant averred that Ford Foundation provided funding for the project through the defendants.

The Claimant stated that the consideration for the project was $37, 779.00 (Thirty-Seven Thousand, Seven Hundred and Seventy-Nine United States Dollars) and the Defendants paid the Claimant Seventy percent (70%) of the agreed sum which amounted to $26, 445.3 (Twenty-Six Thousand, Four Hundred and Forty-Five United States Dollars and Three Cents) leaving a balance of $11,333.7 (Eleven Thousand, Three Hundred and Thirty-Three United States Dollars and Seven Cents) or Thirty percent (30%) of the contract sum.

He stated further that by paragraph 8 of the Terms of Reference, the parties agreed that the balance of the 30 percent was to be paid “within 30 days of the accomplishment of the project as irrespective of whether the 1st Defendant has gone through the work in 30 days or not.

The Claimant stated that he submitted the manuscript to the 1st Defendant on 7th February 2022, adding that the first defendant reviewed the manuscript in 27 days and returned same to the him with her comments.

The second defendant also reviewed the manuscript and returned same to the Claimant for revision.

The Claimant averred that he revised the original manuscript incorporating relevant views of the 1st Defendant (the Approver) and the 2nd Defendant (the project manager) and returned the completed work to the Defendants on 14th March 2022.

He stated that by virtue of the Terms of Reference, the Ist Defendant had thirty (30) days from the 14th day of March 2023 to review the revised manuscript. The parties equally understood, that after thirty (30) days from the 14th day of March 2023, the Claimant would be entitled to the outstanding contractual sum and regard the project as completed.

He further averred that after the expiration of the time-limit for a review of the draft the Defendants sent a letter dated 8th May 2023 purportedly terminating the contract.

The defendants alleged that the claimant breached the terms of reference by a Facebook celebration of Innocent Chukwuma posted on the second anniversary of his demise by the Claimant.

The Claimant maintained that the alleged termination was null, void and of no effect given the fact that as of 8th May 2023, the reviewed manuscript had been with the Defendants for about 55 Days.

The claimant contended that the material details of the Facebook post cited by the first defendant, did not contain confidential information because the references therein were third party information and or information that were already public knowledge and were generally known to numerous persons and contained in publications available to the public.

The claimant avers that the extended time and extensive work on the biography project and the subsequent failure to publish the Biography as agreed, has caused him untold hardship, denying him the time and concentration to work on other professional assignments for professional advancement.

The claimant averred that the failure of the defendants to publish the biography inflicts irreparable damage to his professional reputation because the Claimant will be forced to breach the trust of the scores of people who generously gave their time for interviews by the Claimant for the Biography project trusting his promise that the book will be published.

The claimant stated that all efforts to have respectable mediators related to both parties settle the matter with the Defendants proved abortive. Adding that when his efforts at settlement were rejected by the Defendants and the defendants also refused to pay the outstanding sum of $11,337.7, the Claimant was constrained to retain the services of Lawyers at a cost of N10.5 million to ventilate his claim.

Consequently, the seeking the following reliefs; “A declaration that he had completed the Biography of Late Innocent Chukwuma in accordance with the terms of reference between the parties.

“A declaration that the Defendants, their servants, privies, or anyone hired by them is not entitled to use any material and or writing by the Claimant to publish a Biography of Late Innocent Chukwuma.

“A declaration that the Claimant’s Facebook post of April 4, 2023, did not amount to breach of clause 8 of the Terms of Reference.

“A perpetual injunction restraining the Defendants whether by themselves, their servants, agents or otherwise howsoever from plagiarizing, reproducing, or authorizing the reproduction or plagiarizing of the Claimant’s literary work and or manuscript or any part thereof in any material form whatsoever without the written consent of the Claimant.

“The sum of N100,000,000.00 (One Hundred Million Naira) as special and general damages.

However, in their preliminary objection, the defendants urged the court to strike out the name of 2nd defendant (Pan-Atlantic University) from the suit being not a person known to law and not capable of being sued.

The application was brought pursuant to Order 15 Rule 17 (1) and Order 43 Rule 1 of the high Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019