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INEC Must Be Penalized for Patent Infringement By Mohammed Ali Jnr.
That the last general elections were fraught with many irregularities is no longer news. What might be news to many is that the Independent National Electoral Election (INEC) acted with impunity on its contractual obligations to its customers. As a body widely known to have petite or no respect for the rule of law, the Independent National Electoral Commission almost operated as if it were above the laws of the land. Aside from disobeying court orders, INEC was also found wanting in areas of contractual obligations.
This loathsome side of INEC was brought to
fore recently when Bedding Holdings Limited instituted an action against
INEC and seven others to compel INEC to compensate her for infringement
of her patent right. Bedding Holdings Limited asked the court to
confiscate over N3.5 billion balance payment for the production of the
transparent ballot boxes used in the last general elections. The
Independent National Electoral Commission infringed on the patent right
of Bedding Nigeria Limited by using the ballot boxes without the consent
of the company.
To further show the little respect INEC
has for the laws of the land, it was not represented at the court when
the case came up for mentioning. INEC, however, filed an objection
asking the court to strike out the suit for the plaintiff’s failure to
disclose reasonable cause of action. This is an attempt by INEC to
pervert the cause of justice. By throwing out INEC’s objection, the
honourable court must be praised for living up to the expectations of
Bedding Holdings Limited in the company’s attempt to pursue its rights.
It is worthy to note that if INEC is
allowed to go unpunished with this magnitude of flagrant abuse of power,
most individuals and corporate bodies that are interested in doing
legitimate business with government agencies will be disillusioned. The
country’s image both locally and internationally will wane drastically.
Therefore, our efforts at attracting foreign investors will be an
exercise in futility. Or how else can one explain a situation where some
government agencies can not be compelled to fulfill its contractual
obligations to its customers?
The damage caused by pirates in this
country cannot be over-emphasized. The film industry is fighting pirates
on a daily basis and pirated goods are being destroyed to put a stop to
this ugly trend. The treatment meted out to Bedding Holdings Limited is
not different from the harm that pirates are causing to the film
industry.
It is common practice these days for some
government agencies to request for proposals from contractors on major
projects. Once these proposals are submitted by determined contractors,
the jobs end up being given to mistresses and lady friends of the chief
executives of the organization without the consent of the person whose
original idea is being used. This wicked and criminal act is seriously
gaining ground. All hands must be on deck to curtail the trend.
A punitive measure against INEC would
serve as deterrent to other would be defaulters and also build public
confidence in government institutions. At the end of the journey, no
public institution would perceive itself as too big to be subjected to
the laws of the land.
Mohammed Ali Jnr.
Kaduna
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