Truly, ‘all things are temporary, and nothing is permanent’, Chairman/Founder of Arik airline, Chief Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide, who had been in charge of things at the company for years and had the buck stopped with him, was on Tuesday stopped from entering the company’s premises at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
Team@orientactualmags.com learned Arumemi-Ikhide along with some of his aides had arrived at the company’s premises in line with the court order that had given him the go-ahead to do so.
It would be recalled that AMCON had taken over the management of Arik Air since 2017 and appointed a receiver-manager, Kamilu Omokhide, for the company.
In 2021, Sir Johnson Arumemi Ikhide, and his wife, Mary Arumemi Ikhide (plaintiffs) filed an originating motion dated December 14, 2021, and prayed the court that the duty imposed on the receiver-manager, Kamilu Omokhide (first defendant) by section 553 of the CAMA 202O to act in the best interest of Arik Air Limited as a whole, includes the duty to act in the best interest of the plaintiffs (Arumemi and Mary Ikhide) as members of Arik Air Limited.
Arumemi-Ikhide had also sought an order directing the 1st & 2nd defendants ‘to allow the Directors and Shareholders of Arik Air Ltd unfettered access to their offices, premises of the Plaintiff, facilities and staff required for the discharge of their functions’.
In line with the court order which ruled that the receivership of Arik Air does not include restricting access to the premises, the Arik Air founder had made an attempt to enter the company’s premises on Tuesday.
Security guards, who must have in the past trembled with fear on seeing him, however stopped Arumeni from entering the company’s premises.
The Chief Security Officer of the airline identified as D Tom-West said there was an order from above to stop Arumeni from entering the premises adding that he ‘is only answerable to the receiver-manager’.
‘The receiver -manager gave an instruction not to allow you in. I am not aware of the court order. We cannot give you access or allow you to get into the compound. This is the instruction from above.
I’m very sorry that I’m keeping you people waiting. We have the directive to deny you access. I’m obliged to respect the directive from receiver manager’ he said.
Arumemi-Ikhide had told the CSO that he was not at the company to harass anybody or cause any problem but to rather respect a court order.
He added that he had a meeting with the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Finance Officer that he would be coming around on Tuesday and that some offices should be reserved for him which they had agreed to do but was shocked that he got an unwelcome treatment.
Arumemi-Ikhide later left the premises for the MMA Domestic Airport Division of the Nigeria Police Force where he informed officers on duty of what had happened while noting that his lawyers would take up the matter- Team@orientactualmags.com Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08059100286, 09094171980. Thank you
