The trial of the Nigerian Bottling Company Limited and Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited and their respective managing directors at the Federal High Court, Abuja Division due to the absence of the trial judge, Justice Evoh Chukwu did not sit.
According to the court staff, Justice Chukwu was on official engagement attending a conference at an undisclosed place. Consequently, the case was adjourned till December 1, 2014.
It would be recalled that following the investigation of a consumer complaint involving “two short-filled cans of Sprite,” the CPC had in February 2014 ordered both companies to subject their manufacturing processes to its inspection over a period of 12 months and also pay amounts totaling more than N100 million as fines, cost of investigation and compensation to the aggrieved consumer.
Both companies rejected the investigation report and the consequent orders. They therefore, applied to the Federal High Court for judicial review of the CPC orders. While the application for judicial review was pending, the office of the Attorney General filed charges against the companies.
Last week, the court ordered the charges against the Managing Director of Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, Chief Adeola Adetunji and the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Bottling Company, Ben Langat to be pasted in front of their two offices to enable them have knowledge of the charges preferred against them.
The court however, refused the prosecutor’s application for the issuance of bench warrant to compel the attendance of Adetunji and Langat.
