Serious allegations of judicial disobedience and institutional high-handedness have been levelled against the Bayelsa State Government following its prolonged refusal to pay over ₦1 billion owed to REMATON Services Limited, the construction firm that built the Bayelsa State Judiciary Complex.
At the centre of the dispute is Architect Boma Ojokojo, a widow and current representative of the company founded by her late husband, Arch. Reuben Ojokojo. Almost 16 years after the completion of the Judiciary Complex, the company is yet to be fully paid for work that was fully executed, certified, taken over, and has since been continuously occupied and used by the state government.
Judgment Ignored for Years
Court records show that REMATON Services Limited completed construction of the Bayelsa State Judiciary Complex in 2010. Following disputes over payment, the company instituted Suit No: YHC/26/2019 at the High Court of Bayelsa State.
On 15 January 2021, the High Court, presided over by Hon. Justice D.E. Adokeme, entered judgment in favour of the company, awarding ₦1,006,157,040.71 with interest at 10 per cent per annum until full liquidation.
Rather than comply with the judgment, the Bayelsa State Government, through the Office of the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Biriyai Dambo, SAN, filed a motion seeking a stay of execution. The application was refused. The court subsequently ordered that the judgment sum be paid into an interest-yielding account in the name of the Chief Registrar of the Bayelsa State Judiciary within one week.
According to court documents, that order was neither appealed nor obeyed.
Interest Accrues, Creditors Close In
For more than three years, the judgment debt remained unpaid while interest continued to accumulate. During this period, REMATON Services Limited reportedly faced mounting pressure from creditors, leading to multiple lawsuits, adverse judgments, and enforcement actions against the company’s assets.
Observers describe the situation as particularly troubling given that the company is now led by a widow, who has watched her late husband’s business and professional legacy steadily eroded while the state continues to enjoy the benefits of the completed project.
Legal analysts have described the case as a stark contradiction: a judiciary complex built to symbolize justice and the rule of law becoming the subject of alleged injustice and disregard for court authority.
Appeal Court Dismisses State’s Case
The matter progressed to the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division, in Appeal No: CA/PH/100/2021. On 26 August 2024, the appellate court dismissed the appeal in its entirety.
In a strongly worded judgment, Justice Abubakar Mahmud Talba, JCA, criticised what he described as oppressive conduct by those in authority, warning that public office holders remain accountable beyond the courts of law.
Despite the dismissal, the Bayelsa State Government proceeded to file an appeal at the Supreme Court, a move critics have described as frivolous, particularly as the state was already in contempt of the subsisting High Court order directing payment into court.
Contempt Proceedings and Failed Settlement
Following continued non-compliance, REMATON Services Limited initiated contempt proceedings. A Form 48 (Notice of Consequences of Disobedience) was issued on 23 April 2025, followed by a Form 49 (Notice to Show Cause Why Order of Committal Should Not Be Made) dated 29 April 2025.
Only after these steps did the Office of the Attorney-General indicate willingness to settle. In a letter dated 30 May 2025, the state government informed the company that Governor Douye Diri had approved ₦1.3 billion as full and final settlement, to be paid over a 20-month period, and requested the execution of a settlement agreement.
Acting in what it described as good faith, REMATON Services Limited suspended the contempt proceedings and, by letter dated 2 September 2025, formally accepted the terms and proposed payment structure.
No payment followed.
Further correspondence dated 10 October 2025, received by the Attorney-General’s office on 13 October 2025, reportedly went unanswered. To date, there has been no response, no payment, and no implementation of the proposed settlement.
Allegations of Bad Faith and Institutional Cruelty
The company has since resumed committal proceedings, asking the court to compel obedience to its orders. Legal practitioners following the case say the pattern of conduct—non-compliance with court orders, repeated appeals, and unfulfilled settlement promises—raises grave concerns about respect for the rule of law.
Civil society groups and legal commentators have also framed the matter as one involving social justice, arguing that the prolonged refusal to pay a judgment debt has disproportionately affected a widow who is merely seeking to enforce a lawful court judgment.
As the last yuletide season approached, supporters of the company described the situation as emblematic of how power imbalance and state machinery can be used to exhaust private citizens, even in the face of clear judicial pronouncements.
The Bayelsa State Government has yet to publicly respond to the renewed contempt proceedings or address the allegations of bad faith and disobedience of court orders.
For many observers, the case now stands as a critical test of whether court judgments in Nigeria—particularly those against government—are truly binding, and whether justice can be enforced when the judgment debtor is the state itself.
