Hon. Justices O.O Abike-Fadipe of the Lagos State High court, Ikeja has distanced herself from some disparaging comment being attributed to her during the cause of her judgment in a suit LA/ADR/186/2014 filled by Real Integrated and Hospitality limited with Zenith Bank and Gombe SUBEB as the claimant. The judgment delivered on the 8th of March 2022, was syndicated across new blogs and other online news mediums which created controversies and mixed reactions from all sundry. Many faulted her choice of words where she was alleged to have tagged Zenith bank who is also the 1st claimant in the lawsuit as a fraudulent and corrupt financial institution.
Setting the records straight, the respected judge has openly condemned the report by distancing herself from the viral statement where it was alleged that she used some unprintable words to describe respected leading financial institution Zenith bank in a bad light to its numerous customers and investors. The statement syndicated reads; “The judge addressed Zenith bank as a fraudulent bank, corrupt, aiding and abetting fraudulent activities. “Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe of the Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja has come hard on one of the leading commercial banks In Nigeria, Zenith Bank PLC for allegedly being corrupt, aiding and abetting fraud. Delivering the judgment, Justice Abike-Fadipe described Zenith Bank Plc, as a high-risk financial institution which general public must be wary of so that they will not fall prey to their fraudulent activities. These are the harsh words from the judge. Nigerian public should be careful in their dealings with Zenith Bank, as she called the bank ‘fraudulent’. The judge also added that Zenith Bank is a fraud and people must be very careful in their dealings with the bank. Stating further, the judge accused the bank of bribing both judges and lawyers for 11 years to fraudulently alter the course of justice”
Those present in the court during the proceedings also confirmed that; at no point did Justice Olubunmi make such a statement being credited to her. “As a top judge, you are not allowed to take sides no matter how bad the case is. Your choice of words must also be civil. She is well known for her civility in addressing cases before her and also applauded for her unbiased nature in delivering judgments. Those who syndicated false statements attributed to her might have their own motive of doing such. ”
Justice Abike has also released Certified true copies of her judgment to the public and also to the media for verification purposes to douse the tension the syndicated lies about her have created. After proper verifications and scrutinization from journalists, it was discovered that; there was nothing relating to the statement attributed to her in the news and what was scribbled in the certified true copy.
