NOTICE TO MEMBERS ON THE POSITION OF CITN ON THE RULING DELIVERED ON 2/7/2020 IN SUIT NO. LD/3288GCM/2019 (CITN VS ICAN)

Dear Valued Members,
In line with our promise to update you on the outcome of the legal tussle between your Institute and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria in the above-mentioned suit and other related suits, please be informed that in a virtual RULING delivered on the 2nd of July, 2020, in Suit No. LD/3288GCM/2019 (CITN VS ICAN) the Hon. Justice S. A. Onigbanjo of the High Court of Lagos State, upheld the Preliminary Objection of ICAN against hearing on merit the CITN action requesting the Court to declare the MOU previously executed by the parties as binding.

The Judge held that some of the issues in the suit before him were a replication of the issues in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/125/2019 (ICAN VS FIRS & ANOR.) which was earlier decided in favour of CITN by the Federal High Court.
The Hon. Judge, therefore, did not address the merits of the substantive suit before him but struck out the same on the grounds that it was an “abuse of court process”.

Take notice that when a suit is struck out, it can be re-filed when the technicality that led to the striking is cured. Striking out a case is therefore different from dismissing a case. In the latter case, the matter would have been heard on the merits and any challenge against the ruling or judgement will require proceeding to the Court of Appeal.
On a cursory comparison, it is glaring that the issues and reliefs in the two suits (at the Federal High Court and at the State High Court) are radically and diametrically different and distinct, and do not create the possibility of any conflict, whatsoever. Although no damage has been done to the merits of the CITN case, we find the ruling of Hon. Justice Onigbanjo totally unacceptable. It is bereft of any basis in law and fact and we will take immediate steps to seek to set it aside on appeal.

We remain committed to defending the CITN Charter and upholding the sanctity and preservation of the Tax Profession.
Members are therefore advised not to yield in to propaganda from any quarter as all the existing judgements upholding the sanctity of our Charter have favoured CITN and none has been set aside till date.

DATED this 3rd day of July, 2020

Adefisayo Awogbade, FCTI, M.Sc
Registrar/Chief Executive