The Ogun State Government has dismissed news reports claiming that the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal filed by it in a case against Datkems, a company associated with the senator representing Ogun East in the National Assembly, Gbenga Daniel.
In a statement issued by the Special Adviser on Media and Strategy to the governor, Hon. Kayode Akinmade, on Wednesday, 12 February, 2025, the Ogun State Government noted that it merely withdrew one of the four appeals it filed against Datkems in the court after noticing an error in the title, adding that all the appeals are still pending against the company.
This withdrawal, it said, was falsely misrepresented as a judicial victory with the intent to deceive the public, even while the Court of Appeal has yet to make any pronouncement on the substantive issues and while Datkems has yet to file any cogent response to the allegations against it.
The statement said: “The Ogun State Government still has three pending appeals against Datkems before the Ibadan Division of the Court of Appeal.
“With respect to a fourth appeal, the government observed an error in the title of the Notice of Appeal and opted not to proceed with that appeal but to file another. Because the government had expressly informed the court of its decision to abandon the appeal, the court took a procedural decision to end the appeal and delete the appeal number. This is without prejudice to the right of the Ogun State Government to reinitiate the appeal.
“The fact remains that the Ogun State Government still has three strong appeals against Datkems’ business. Those appeals are pending, ongoing, and have been adjourned to 19 May 2025 for hearing. Datkems has yet to submit any arguments in those appeals.”
Noting that Datkems is understandably eager to exaggerate its position in the court cases, just as it was eager to misrepresent its legal status in the court cases too, the statement recalled that Datkems filed the case against the Ogun State Government on 7 September 2023, describing itself as Datkems Enterprises Limited, but the Ogun State Government’s diligent investigation exposed it as a fraud, as no company named Datkems Enterprises had ever been registered.
This, it said, made the case incompetent. “Datkems had no answer to that point at the trial court and has had no answer to this day.
“That is why rather than face the appeals, it is busy presenting minor administrative decisions as huge judicial victories. Time will tell. And the Ogun State Government will prevail,” the statement added.
