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The Arbitration (2016)
Hey. Shouldn't you still be in school?
Auntie Funlayo, what are you doing here? Arguing against you, I'm told. Shebi, you're the one representing Dara Olujobi. And you must be Mr. Gbenga Sanni's lawyer. Of course, he can afford the best. Your mom said to me that you were involved in commercial law. We went to QC together. I told her I was a commercial lawyer, but she insisted. The great old QC cult. It never fails. Well, you should know. Shebi, you told my mother to take me there. You'll be fine. You know, your client is very lucky to have you... in spite of your lack of experience. What about the beta test? As a part of the reasons, I attached the file so you can see the discrepancies in the numbers. Yeah, well, if you don't have the time to fix it, then hire someone to do it-- We're ready? It's going to be okay. I have a strong case. Yes, I would like some, please. Look. I've had my fair share. I'd like some effort, so just make sure it's right. Have you confirmed the hotels? Yes. Yeah. Absolutely. Three suites. Yeah. Just-- just confirm it, and you can send them all the details yourself. Yes. All right. Good. Good morning. My name is Tomisin Bucknor. I am the arbitrator appointed by the Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Nigerian Branch. This arbitration shall be conducted in accordance with the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 2004. Faridah, my paralegal, will take the minutes of this session. This is not a courtroom, but the rules of evidence may apply. So if there are no comments, may we take the claimant's statement? I have a comment. The federal high court has ruled that this case must come to arbitration. However, I will challenge your jurisdiction to hear the matter. The court has already ruled on this, Your Honor. I am not a judge, Miss Horsfall. Not only has the court ruled on this, Mr. Bucknor. Neither the court of appeal nor the Supreme Court have agreed to take Mr. Sanni's appeal. It is clear that the arbitration panel is the right place for this case. Please state your case, Mrs. Johnson. Thank you. Ms. Olujobi here had resigned her post at Iwaju Limited before this incident occurred. She, therefore, cannot be covered under the arbitration clause of her employment contract, because that contract is void. That is not true Your-- Mr. Bucknor. While Ms. Olujobi had resigned, she was well within her six month notice period. She remained an employee. She earned a salary. As such she should still be under the full protection of her employment contract. Well, your comments are noted, Mrs. Johnson, but we'll go ahead. Please, present the claimant's statement. Thank you. On the evening of August 10, 2015, my client Miss Dara Olujobi visited the home of Mr. Gbenga Sanni, the CEO of Iwaju Limited. Whilst there she was sexually assaulted by Mr. Sanni. The assault was the latest in a sequence that occurred over two years and created a hostile working environment for Ms. Olujobi. Mr. Sanni's actions drove Ms. Olujobi out of Iwaju, and cost her her shares, amounting to 30% of Iwaju Limited. Ms. Olujobi is seeking the accelerated grant of her 30% shareholding in Iwaju. You must be joking. Mr. Bucknor, please instruct the defendant to remain silent. Again, this is not a court room, Mrs. Horsfall. And he's not the defendant. Ms. Olujobi is also seeking damages amounting to the naira equivalent of one million US dollars. Well, the purpose of this arbitration is to determine whether Ms. Olujobi should be granted her requests or not. To that end, we're going to take testimonies from Ms. Olujobi and Mr. Sanni. But if I'm unable to reach a decision after the testimonies, both parties will be free to bring in additional witnesses. Okay? So you may begin. Ms. Olujobi, please tell us in your own words exactly what happened that night. The letter sent to the Vallejo Times-Herald looked hauntingly familiar. I went to visit him that night. ...on Halloween in my death machine, the writer said, looking for kiddies to run over. Immediately, I recognized the style. And I don't pretend to be a handwriting expert, but I know what the letters look like. Here. No? Did I tell you look amazing by the way? Where is Chiamaka? Still in the UK. I take it she's having the baby there. You know, I wish you would let me explain. There's nothing to explain. Dara. No. No. I said no. So why did you come here then? You know why I came. I can't waive the non-compete clause. It's a board decision. The board is you, me, and Mariam. Between both of us I think we have the votes. Look. It's six months. Think of it as an extended holiday, not Iwaju barring you from work. It's not like Chijioke can't wait for you. So his email is true. You joined Super VAS. I just want to move on with my life. Gbenga, you owe me that much. One night. One night for old time's sake, and I will sign whatever you want me to sign. Please don't do this. Please. Gbenga, please. Gbenga, please. Thank you very much, Dara. You may question the claimant, Mrs. Johnson. Do you mind if I stand? That was quite the story, Ms. Olujobi. So did you go to the police? Yes, I did. What did they say? Apparently, the mistress of a married man cannot get raped? Rape? Well, I don't mean to be mean, but what you just described doesn't sound like rape. He had sex with me against my will. I think you'll find that meets the standard definition of rape. What you describe, Ms. Olujobi, was an offer, an offer that you accepted. Not rape. He had my future in his hands. I couldn't say no. A six month delay, Ms. Olujobi. I'm sure that you find that that's simply a matter of opinion, but tell us what happened on June 29, 2015. I'm sorry. I'm not sure I follow. Ms. Olujobi, please tell us what happened the day you quit. Hey, beautiful. -What the hell? -Pregnant. She's fucking pregnant! Dara, I can explain. Please tell me she tripped and fell on your dick. Look. It's complicated. I was going to-- Did you cheat on me with her? With her, Gbenga? Well, technically, I'm cheating with you. She's my wife. We can get through this, Dara. -She's pregnant with your child. -Don't do this. Consider this my six month notice. Fuck you! I'd like to be clear on this. You expected my client to leave his pregnant wife? I expected him to live up to the promise he made me. And what promise was that? -To love me for the rest of our lives. -He's a married man, Ms. Olujobi. He doesn't get to keep that promise. And while I appreciate the circumstance in which you find yourself, you cannot deny the fact that you did seduce Gbenga. -I object. -What exactly are you objecting to? To the relevance of this line of questioning. Your client has just slandered a celebrated entrepreneur. Her history with him speaks to motive. The claimant will respond. Finally, did they have to harvest the rice from Thailand? Move, joor. Aren't you going to get the plates? I got the food. Gbenga, it's your house. And you know where the kitchen is. Not going to happen. How about I throw you 1K if you go? Do you think I'm that cheap? Yes ke. I'll give you a kiss if you go. How do I know you'll pay? Don't you trust me? Hey, wait. What kind of false advertising is that? I'll report you. To who? I'll have you know that I am friends with the chairman of APCON. And he takes false advertising very seriously. Fine. Yeah. I'm-- I'm sorry. I couldn't resist. And to be fair, I have wanted that from the second I saw you. -What? -Really. "And to be fair, I have wanted that from the second I saw you." What kind of secondary school line is that? Whatever. But you know you want it too. The food is going to get cold. I have a microwave. I'm still not going to the kitchen. I must say that's a dangerous, dangerous game that you're playing with a married man, Ms. Olujobi. He escalated it. You pour petrol, and you're surprised that he lit the match. It doesn't change what happened. Of course not. Did he keep his word? I'm sorry? Did he remove the non-compete clause in your contract and allow you to work for the competition? Yes, he did. So why are we here? Why didn't you just simply put it behind you and walk away? I'll tell you why. Iwaju bought Super VAS, and your offer was rescinded. -Is that not so? -Yes. But that was-- No more questions. Very good. Yeah. I think we can do with a brief recess. We'll pick up Mr. Sanni's testimony in 30 minutes. It's going to be okay. Funlayo is a legend. I have known her since I was a kid. She can even make you believe that Jesus Christ deserved the cross. But nothing she has said changes the facts. So you could have had sex with him a million times before, but all that matters is that the last time was coerced. He's going to lie. Of course he's going to lie. If he agrees with you, we win. He's very charming. Very good at it. It's okay. We'll be fine. We've gamed this all out. He's not going to get away with this. Okay? Yeah. That was fun. Did you see Tomisin's face by the time I was done? What do you want? Tell your client to drop the complaint. And why would we do that? Because when you lose-- and you will-- she won't get another job. Nobody likes false rape accusations. Plus, you don't want a loss like this on your record. Thank you for your concern, Auntie. But I must decline your kind offer. Omawumi, darling, listen to me. This is not the kind of case you want to lose. It's bad, very bad for your career. I'm not selling out my client. It's not selling out to act in your best interest, or hers. What did she want? For me to drop the case. I told you we have a chance. So this is the next line of action. Tell us about yourself. My name is Gbenga Sanni. And I am the CEO of Iwaju Limited. And what does Iwaju do? We are a technology company. We provide software for bank text alerts and mobile apps. And with the acquisition of Super VAS, we are the largest independent provider of music and subscription texts in Nigeria. Interesting. In your estimate, Mr. Sanni, how much is this company worth? Right now, about $150 million. And how much of this do you own? 46%. Wow. You're a very rich man. So tell us who exactly is Ms. Dara Olujobi and what is your relationship with her? Well, up until nine months ago, she was Chief Operating Officer at Iwaju, my second in command, if you will. And how much of this company did she own? Well, the exact figures are tricky, but she would have owned 30% of the company before the Super VAS purchase. 30%. Wow. That's a lot of money. Why would she walk away from something like that? She wanted something I couldn't give. She wanted me to leave my wife and child. And when you rebuffed her, she left of her own accord. Correct? Yes. That is correct. How long was your affair? Two years. But it ended. Correct? My wife was pregnant with my daughter. She was gracious enough to give me another chance. And you felt this way the night she came to visit. Absolutely. All right, Mr. Sanni. Tell us what happened that night. -You shouldn't have come. -How dare you send that email? Of course, I'm going to insist on the non-compete. -Super VAS is a competitor. -Super VAS isn't a competitor. The Diamond Bank mobile app tender is on. You mean to tell me if I let you go, Super VAS won't bid? -Gbenga, if you ever loved me-- -Hey, look. I'm sorry. I'd rather you stay, but if you must go, you have to wait six months before you work with Super VAS. Please, can you leave? Dara. So you broke your vows. Yes. Despite everything you said. Yes. But you did not rape her. -No. -You did not coerce her. -No. -Why did you sleep with her? I love her. That's a big statement coming from a man with a wife and a baby. Dara-- Dara is special. And yet you felt that she used her specialness to manipulate you. Right? And this wouldn't be the first time, now would it? No. No, it's not. Mr. Sanni, tell us how you and Dara met. Hello. Yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. Well, we can sit down and talk about it. No. We don't have to-- Yeah, sure. All right. Bye. What can I do for you, Ms. Olujobi? As I said in my e-mail, our firm needs to discuss your Bulk SMS rates. -It's not going to work. -I'm sorry? Nnamdi sending a pretty girl to seduce me into renegotiating his Bulk SMS rates is not going to work. -That's what he did? -This is Nigeria. And I know how you advertising people roll, but that is not how I run my business. -I see. -Yeah. So tell him the price is the price. He'll be relieved to hear that. How do you mean relieved? I've been trying to convince him to switch APIs. An Indian provider has one for 20% of your cost. And where are you going to get SMS gateway? Everybody and their brother in Computer Village has an SMS gateway. Maybe I-- maybe I was too hasty. Most advertisers know nothing about APIs and SMS gateways. Most advertisers don't have a first class degree in Computer Science. So why advertising? With a first class, you can write your ticket into Nigeria. IT, telecoms-- Five minutes ago, you thought I was here to fuck you. Now, you think I'm wasting my life. Great. Maybe we should start again. For a third time? How much reduction are we talking about? I think 50% is fair. 50%. That's-- that's crazy. It's fair. Besides with your G Bank SMS alert contract, you'll barely even notice a reduction. No. It's not fair. And we're still bidding for the contract. I've seen the other APIs. You should win hands down. I sell bulk SMS's. A tier-1 bank may not trust my reputation regardless of how good my product is. There is that. Good luck. Wait. Please sit. You've worked with bank clients? Yes. So you understand what they need. Are you trying to offer me a job? You said it yourself. I have the best product. Look. You're a software engineer that understands selling to banks. I didn't know that I needed you until I met you. Now, I know that I fucking need you. Why would I want to work for you? Because nothing you do in advertising will give you the same feeling as winning this contract. And what happens if you don't win? We win the next one. But it wasn't your idea to hire her, now was it? No, it wasn't. We were working on a Zenith Bank app. You're supposed to be helping me. You are supposed to be an adult what's with the rubber band. It's my thing. Leave me joor. So you aren't going to help me. Isn't that why I hired you? Please. I hired myself. Think about it. Why would Nnamdi send his account executive to renegotiate Bulk SMS, especially when we charge the client a margin on top? Wait. Nnamdi didn't know that you were coming to that meeting. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Nope. So how did you know that I would hire you? You needed me. I just had to make you realize it. Well, thank you, Ms. Olujobi, for being just what I needed. Now, let me be sure that I understand the facts. The claimant tricks you into giving her a job. Seduces you. Tries to get you to leave your wife. Attempts to join your rival. And then, when all of this fails, she accuses you of rape. Is this correct? Special indeed. So Super VAS? Did you buy Super VAS to spite the claimant? Of course not. They are the strongest player in music ringback tones in specialty texts, that kind of thing. We are the strongest player in finance. We're complimentary. It made strategic sense to buy them. Of course. Things like this in business take time. So how did she react? You fucking bastard. I'm going to make you pay. I'm going to make you pay. Thank you very much. Mr. Sanni, can you tell us what happened the day after? The day after what? The day after Dara took the job. This is shit. This is shit. This is pointless. -I hope that's not shit. -I've seen better thank yous. Look. I am a software engineer, okay? Power point presentation is not my thing. I'm a software engineer too. And that's not an excuse. -Steve Jobs hated power point. -You're not Steve Jobs. Yeah. Well, maybe if I was wearing a turtleneck and round-eyed glasses, you wouldn't be able to tell us apart. We need to finish this bid to submit it. We don't have time for bad jokes. There's always time for bad jokes. Yoruba girls are so respectful that I once saw two of them kneel in appreciation after collecting from an ATM. -No? -That was really funny. Okay. During a Nigerian book festival, a BBC reporter asked a Yoruba girl to mention one book that had changed her life. And then she said-- -Her husband's check book. -You've heard that one. Everybody has heard that one. Now, go away. I have work to do. So Dara did the presentation for the GT Bank contract? That's why I hired her. The presentation that won you the contract. I believe my software won the contract. Of course. Please read the quote from the GT Bank IT Head. I haven't seen that document. This is not a court. What document is that, Ms. Horsfall? This is the GT Bank press release, announcing the Iwaju SMS alert contract award. I see. Well, you may read it, Mr. Sanni. "Iwaju's product was just as good, if not better than the others. However, the clarity of thought of their presentation... ...really sold it. Going through it, I thought I had to be in business with this company." Listen. The presentation could not have sold anything without the product. Of course, but you do agree that the GT Bank contract was instrumental in the success of Iwaju and that Dara played a pivotal role? I'm going to need an answer, Mr. Sanni. Yes. That is correct. Bank SMS was your biggest business? Yes, it was. And Dara led the team that managed and deployed it? Under my supervision. Is it still your biggest business? No. The Just Load business is. What is Just Load? It allows you to load credit on your phone by dialing a code. Okay. That's clever. Who came up with that? Dara did. And how much credit do you sell on Just Load, say, in a month? We do about a billion a month. Wow. One billion every month. What is your margin on that? 7%? No. 5% comes to us. 50 million naira every single month. Is all of that profit? Wow. That's a lot of money Dara brought to the company. Well, yes. But she didn't own any part of it? It's not that simple. Try and explain it to us. She had share grants that would give her 30% of the company. Shares she lost after you forced her out. She chose to leave. She left millions of dollars on the table just to get away from you? Please tell us, how long would she have had to work to earn those shares? Seven years. Look. It was my investors. Investors? Jaguar Capital? Yes. They had to ensure that she'd stay. So Jaguar Capital is the reason why Dara had no shares? Yes. Okay. Please tell us, how did you get the investment from Jaguar Capital? We're sorry it didn't work out. But we're sure we'll do something together in the future. Of course. Can you imagine this bullshit? I hate fucking bankers. And don't you dare say I told you so. Mariam Yusuf is in town. -Who? -You know damn well who she is. Look. I don't want an equity investor. -Apart from you. -Yeah. Don't forget that. You owe me shares, boy. Look. Mariam and I were in the same class in QC. She'll do right by us. How does going to QC with her mean she will do right by us? Because QC girls stick together. Wait. So the person behind Jaguar Capital -was Dara's school friend? -Yes. And yet she insisted on the lock-up. She would do that to her own friend? She didn't make the decision. Her bosses wanted to ensure Dara stayed. Okay. Tell me about the conversation you had with Miss Olujobi after you got the Jaguar Capital email informing you of the investment committee's approval. Are they picking the grapes in France? Gbenga. Really. Babe, see you need to chill with these dry jokes. Please. They are better than your Yoruba girl jokes. Yeah right. Meanwhile, Mariam just called me. She said that the IC asked that I delay the... -share transfer to you. -What? They want to make you a part of their transaction. Why? What difference does that make? You told them no, right? You agreed. We'll close in three months, okay? It's not that long. I was supposed to get my shares last year, Gbenga. I know. I know. I fucked up. Look. It's just-- it's just paperwork. The shares are yours, okay? Just a little while longer. You have my back, right? Always. Open this. So you went from promising her shares to making her wait seven years for them? It was her idea to go to Jaguar Capital. And besides, she agreed. She wanted to push back. You told her not to risk it, that you were afraid Jaguar would pull out. She agreed. This was three days before you slept together, correct? And why does that matter? Did it ever occur to you that she slept with you to ensure she got her fair share of the company she built? I beg your pardon, sir. I just didn't realize that we were allowed wild conjecture. Mr. Sanni has shown manipulative behavior towards my client in the past. It is reasonable to assume that she did this to protect herself. This is ridiculous. Mr. Bucknor kindly direct that my client not respond to that question. Mr. Sanni, please answer the question. No. I don't think she did it to buy my loyalty. We were in love. -But you betrayed her. -I did my best for her. Easy for you to say. You owned your shares. She had to wait for hers. It is my company. She is the reason for its success. -I disagree with you on that. -Of course you would. Is that a question? Mr. Sanni, how did you find out about Ms. Olujobi joining Super VAS? You bought Super VAS because of an email? Super VAS focused on music. It was possible that with Dara joining them they would make inroads into finance. As you said, she was important to us. I'm sorry. What's your name again? Faridah. Faridah Ahmed. Faridah, could you kindly read back to us the transcript of Mrs. Johnson questioning Mr. Sanni concerning Iwaju's purchase of Super VAS? I-- I misspoke. What I meant-- You will get your chance, Mr. Sanni. -Faridah. -Sir. Mrs. Johnson asks, "So Super VAS, did you buy them to spite the claimant?" Mr. Sanni replies, "Of course not. They are the strongest players in the music ringback tones and specialty text, that kind of thing. We are the strongest player in finance. We are complementary. It made strategic sense to buy them." Mrs. Johnson asked, "But the timing though. Coincidence?" Mr. Sanni replied, "We have been talking about it for over a year. It all just came together." Which is it, Mr. Sanni? Were you in talks for a year? Or did you do it to prevent Dara from joining? Look. Dara's leaving me have contributed to the decision to fast track. You-- you don't complete a deal like this overnight. That it was done in a week meant that we had been in talks. Of course. And whose idea was it to purchase Super VAS? Who began those talks? Dara. I can't hear you, Mr. Sanni? Dara. And yes, I initially resisted. Who is Ebele Nwachukwu? She had nothing to do to this. Nothing. How dare you? Please do not address my client. Relevance, Mr. Bucknor. Clearly, Mr. Sanni feels differently. Please answer the question. Ebele was my former receptionist. She was smart, funny, ambitious. Things progressed and-- and then, she got pregnant. I didn't handle it well. I insisted that she have an abortion. Were you married at this time? Yes. About a year. -She died. -Objection. Mr. Bucknor, this is highly prejudicial and totally irrelevant to the matter at hand. I disagree, Mr. Bucknor. Mr. Sanni's previous history in using women and leaving them to their fate is of utmost relevance. That Ms. Nwachukwu died is tragic, but the pattern it establishes is crucial for our case. While I appreciate the point, Ms. Horsfall, I will not take the information about Ms. Nwachukwu for consideration in my judgment. Do you still have any more questions for Mr. Sanni? No, Mr. Bucknor. We'll go for lunch now. And when we come back, we'll take the witnesses. Thank you. My, my, my. What a boring lunch. You should live a little. You did good in there. I wasn't expecting any challenge whatsoever. We're not settling. Did you know that the sale of Super VAS means that Mr. Sanni only owns 46% of the company? The other Super VAS shareholders believe that the company will benefit from Ms. Olujobi's continued employment. You expect her to keep working for him after what he did? What he did or didn't do is still a matter of dispute. However, she need not work with him. She wanted to move to Super VAS. And now, she can. In fact, she need not see him at all except for board meetings. And the 30% ownership? Now, the board concedes to 10% ownership for Ms. Olujobi. The Super VAS purchase would have made it 20%. 19.5%. Let's take .5 for pain and suffering, shall we? That shouldn't be a problem. And he has to admit what he's done. Do not overplay your hand, young lady. She won't get a better deal. No deal. Talk to your client. Convince her. You know what. This is rubbish. -What are you doing? -Ending this. -Dara, take the fucking deal. -Please do not address my client. 20% is more than you deserve after today. 20% is more than-- What 20%? What are you talking about? You sneaky bitch. You should talk to your lawyer. Why didn't you tell me? -You would have settled. -That's my decision. What's the offer? Tell me. You get to have your job back, or you can move to Super VAS if you want. You also get 20% of Iwaju. That's everything you want, but you shouldn't take it. Why not? Because he's not admitting to the assault. -Well, that's not worth risking-- -He doesn't get to win. Me going back with my equity and my job is me winning. -Not when he's still there. -What does it matter if he's still there? He doesn't get to rape you and have it be okay. Who's he? It's not important. Let's focus on your case. You rejected an offer without telling me. Clearly, he's important. You're right, he's not important. If Gbenga admits to the rape, he'll have to resign. So? It's not like you can't do his job. Everything that that company is, you made it. He took it away from you. Agree to work with him again you're saying that he was right to do everything he did to you, including rape you. Omawumi, if I lose, I get nothing. We won't lose. Did you know he was coming? No. Who is he? What are you doing here? Dara asked me to be a witness. How can you be a witness? Because she asked me to. She is suing the company. Your company, you are the second largest shareholder. Well, technically, she is suing you, and we are paying a lot of money to defend you. Chijioke, if you think that you're going to use this case to take over my job. Gbenga, this is exactly what I love about you, your crazy paranoia. Can we stop him? What do you think he'll say? I guess we'll find out. All right. We will begin the afternoon session. I can see only one witness for the claimant and none for the respondent. We don't need another witness, Mr. Bucknor. Our case is open and shut. Okay. Please state your name for the record. My name is Chijioke Utah, and I am the Deputy Managing Director of Iwaju Limited. You will begin. When did you become the DMD of Iwaju? About nine months ago. What were you before joining Iwaju? I was the CEO of Super VAS. And where were you before that? I was a software developer for Iwaju. Chijioke. Good afternoon, sir. Dara tells me that you have something to pitch. And please, my best engineer does not call me sir. Yes, sir. Sorry. Have you seen subscription SMS asking you to pay 50 naira a week for news, Bible verses, sports-- Yes. People that send them should be shot. Apparently, he wants us to go into the business. Says it would take about a month to reconfigure our current platform. And why would we want to do that? Apparently, it's very profitable. Yes. Of the 50 naira, the telcos get ten naira. We get ten naira, and the provider of the information gets ten naira-- We're a respectable company doing business with billion dollar banks. How would it look if we're hawking geo text messages for 50 naira a week? -Not good. -Exactly. But I like the hustle, and I like the entrepreneurship. And it's thinking outside the box like this that will keep Iwaju going forward. Cool? I'll talk to him. Why would you even bring that to me? It's free money. Not my kind of free money. So you quit? Of course. And yet you came back. That was Dara. Care to expand? Well, like everyone else, I did ringback tunes. But I was looking for money to develop a music platform. Iwaju raised money from Jaguar Capital the year earlier, and she was looking to invest. This is lovely. I remember him. New faces. Look at those new faces. Yes. Hello. -Hey, my guy. -Jonah. You crazy. What are you doing now? Software. Software. -I like this look on my guy. -Good to see you again. I like your coat. Hey, Chijioke. Great to see you, man. -Thank you, sir. -You're still calling me sir. Aren't you a CEO yourself? Please sit. So Dara tells me that you want to go into music downloads. Well, yes. You know, ringback tunes are a big business for us, but MTN and other telcos are coming. So we plan to build a music platform that will serve as a one-stop shop for downloading to our people. And why would they use your platform and not GLO or the other telcos? We plan to integrate a social element to make it sticky. -Social? -Yes. Social is difficult. There is this brilliant young girl who built a bridesmaids app for an event planner. It had 100k users in six months. I hired her to run social. I see. And... how much are you looking for? -Two million dollars. -That's a lot of money. Well, platform development is expensive, you know. And how much equity are you selling? Up to 40%. For this we would need 70%. Gbenga. Dara, his main business is under threat by the telcos. His new business requires a social media element to succeed, which he's entrusted in the hands of a young girl nobody knows about. I too was a girl nobody knew about. It's risky. We need to be compensated. No offense, Chijioke. You know I always speak the truth. I-- I cannot sell you 70% of my company. I cannot do the deal for anything less. Thank you for your time. Thanks. So how did you raise the $2 million? Dara introduced me to Jaguar Capital. They gave me the $2 million for 20% of my company. Is there a point to this line of questioning? I mean, all we've heard so far is that Mr. Sanni said no to Mr. Chijioke twice, which leads us to believe that Mr. Chijioke has a grudge and conclude that he is an unreliable witness. Do you have a grudge, Mr. Utah? Gbenga's stupidity made me a very, very rich man. Congratulations on the deal. Thank you. I couldn't have done it without you and your advice. Please. You didn't need me. Wait. You said you wanted to talk to me about something. I want you to come work for me. Look. Fin-tech is good now. But consumer is the future. I guarantee you that in three years Super VAS will be bigger than Iwaju. -Chijioke, I just can't-- -He doesn't value you. I think you better leave. Dara, he is the reason Jaguar screwed you. Mariam told me that the Jaguar Investment Committee wanted to give you 30% of Iwaju. But Gbenga didn't want to be diluted that much. He insisted on the 20% he promised you, but that it was pre-investment. The eventual compromise was that you get your 30%, but only after you stayed seven years. He told me he fought for me. He betrayed you. Excuse me for a second. Right. Hey beautiful. -What the hell? -Pregnant. She's fucking pregnant. -Dara, I can explain. -Please. Please tell me she tripped and fell on your dick. -Okay. It's compli-- -You cheated on me with her. Her, Gbenga. Technically, I'm cheating with you. She is my wife. Look. We will get through this, okay? She's pregnant with your child. Don't do this. Don't do this. Consider this my six month notice. Fuck you! Let's do this. So why did you agree to be purchased by Iwaju? It was Mariam Yusuf's idea. The Jaguar Capital investor. Yes. She convinced Dara, who convinced me. It made sense, especially for Dara, who would remain with Iwaju and accelerate her share grants. But Gbenga disagreed? He agreed. Only if Dara was excluded. So why didn't that kill the deal? It doesn't matter. Look, Chijioke, you have to take the deal. What about you? I'll be fine. Interswitch is always hiring. Come on. Gbenga's vindictiveness is the reason Dara did not get her due. Again, I have to ask for the relevance of this testimony. This testimony establishes that Mr. Sanni actively worked to deny Ms. Olujobi her fair share of Iwaju despite her being the brains behind the company. It exposes actions that made Mr. Sanni millions of dollars and left Ms. Olujobi with nothing. It also supports our claim that he used the promise of promotion and advancement to coerce sexual favors from her. Mr. Bucknor, would you agree that the claimant's case is based on the conjecture that Ms. Olujobi here was coerced into having a sexual relationship by Mr. Sanni during the course of her working life? It is one of the assertions. Yes. Right. I would like to introduce a witness that will contradict that assertion. But you have no witnesses on the list, Mrs. Johnson. Which is why I'm asking for a recess. It is crucial to my case, Mr. Bucknor. We don't have a problem with it. Right. You have one hour. Make that two. Lagos traffic. In the meantime, I would like to ask Mr. Chijioke some questions before we go on recess. Mr. Chijioke, are you in love with Ms. Olujobi? Yes. I-- I am. And you don't see how that puts your testimony in doubt? I don't see why. Everything I've said can be backed up by other people. Of course not. Except for that one meeting during which she told you to take the deal. Are you aware that she called Mr. Sanni and abused him verbally? It makes sense. He screwed her over. And yet, she still convinced you to take the deal. Don't you find that odd? Let me see if I understand what's going on here. Ms. Olujobi agreed to work for Mr. Sanni one month, one clear month, after he allegedly raped her. That she overlooked the assault doesn't make her a liar. Of course, it makes her a saint. I tend not to believe in saints. Is that a question? Was the plan for you to force him out? That was never discussed. Would you say that Ms. Olujobi is using her claims of sexual harassment to force Mr. Sanni and Iwaju to change the terms of the deal that she agreed to? -I wouldn't say that. -But you can see -how someone would say that? -No. I can't. I see. One last question. Should Dara win here today, what would happen to Iwaju? We'll be fine. We are the largest VAS company in Nigeria. Of course. But that's not my question. Who will be in charge? You are good. I see why we hired you. Do I need to request Mr. Bucknor to ask you to respond to that question? I expect Dara will if she returns. Or I if she doesn't. Fuck him. Fuck this shit. Fuck it! Hey, young man, get out! Can you hear me? Get out! They're trying to take my company from me. -So it will seem. -So it will seem? So it will seem? I'm paying you for more than so it will seem. I stopped them the first time. You will stop them now. Well, I think that our defense has been rather-- I don't give a shit what you think. He loves her. The stupid bastard. I-- I made him. I gave him his first job in this industry. That is the problem with you Nigerians. No gratitude. Can you-- can you-- can you prove that they're-- they're sleeping together? If you recall, their case is built on sexual assault. So what we need to do is to provide a witness that will debunk their claim that Ms. Olujobi was coerced into having sex with you. Of course. -All right. -So produce that witness now. Get them over here and let's end this. Kick off. The context for the game sees both clubs here after back-to-back draws in the Barclays Premier League. Arsenal at Liverpool. And Stoke past 30 at Chelsea. Dara. Now behind. Early chance for Arsenal. Campbell took a swipe at it. Had a poor time chasing it down. That's a wild one for Joe Campbell, who's been playing pretty well in an Arsenal shirt. I think it's going to be easy to get-- That wasn't how I imagined I would propose my love to you. It's okay to tell someone you love them, you know. Even if they don't feel the same way? I wish you had told me what he did. I would have-- If you lose, I'm giving you half my Iwaju shares. No. There's no need for that. But you built this. Even Super VAS started because of you. It's not fair that you get nothing if you lose. Look. It's not your responsibility to right the wrongs in my life. This is my fight, Chijioke, not yours. Not sure whether Monreal is exactly sure what to do here. What did he want? To offer me half his shares if I lost. It's the least he could do. It's true. He ruined our case. We needed his testimony. Yes. We needed his testimony to show that Gbenga scuttled your deal. We needed his testimony so that we could show Gbenga for the vindictive bastard that he is. Not for him to come here tell the whole world how he loves you and wants you to run the company. -Damn it! -Calm down. It's going to be okay. I honestly wish we took that deal. I don't. I've been trying to pretend as if everything would be okay once I got my shares. I'm done pretending. That bastard raped me just as much as if he held me down. I may not win, but I'll be damned going down saying I didn't get raped. Well, now, we got to win. Omawumi, I can't lose this. I can't lose what-- Was Chijioke really that bad? If nothing else, we at least proved that Iwaju can survive without Gbenga. I'm just more worried now about who their rebuttal witness is. That's easy. It's Chiamaka. His wife. Thank you so much for joining us, Mrs. Sanni. Anything for my husband. Please state your name for the record. My name is Chiamaka Sanni. While this is not a courtroom, please remember that you are under oath. Is that understood? Thank you again, Mrs. Sanni. Would you be so kind as to tell us how long you've been married for? Ten years next month. That's a long time. Would you describe your marriage as healthy? Well, it would have been if not for this Jezebel. Interesting. Ms. Olujobi here claims that she was coerced into a relationship by your husband. Is that a joke? You disagree with this claim? She was the one who chased him. Dara-- I'm going to take your husband and fuck him six ways from Sunday. Maybe when I'm done with him, you can have him back, if he wants to come back. -Dara-- -This doesn't concern you. This is between me and your wife. Gbenga, are you going to let her speak to me like this? He can't help you. Now, I take it that we will not need to have this conversation again. I see. So Ms. Olujobi here kissed your husband in front of you in public? And threatened me. I have no further questions. Mrs. Sanni, did you know you were going to be cross-examined today? Yeah. I've seen law shows on TV. Of course. Who hasn't? Can you please tell us what happened minutes before she kissed your husband? Remember that you are effectively under oath. Oh my gosh. And that was how I got Diamond Bank to double the fee. Yeah. Oh my gosh. She's being generous. She did all the work. I just took the credit. I need to use the restroom. Can't it wait? I have a meeting at 2:00. No. No. No. It will only take a second. Dara, are you coming? Restroom. Okay. Okay. I can now say that. You think you can fuck my husband? Well, you thought I didn't know. I think there's been a misunderstanding. I'm not-- I think you need be taught a lesson. -You can't be serious. -Leave her face. But let her know not to go fishing in other people's ponds. Excuse me. Please. This is not allowed here. Thank you. You hired people to beat her up? -She was sleeping with my husband. -Actually, she wasn't. The first time they slept together was three months after that. -You're lying. -Your husband himself confirmed it. She kissed him. I saw it. You hired people to beat her up. Why would she give you any satisfaction? Thank you for coming, Mrs. Sanni. You may be excused now. Mr. Bucknor, may I ask Gbenga a follow-up question to that testimony? Go ahead. What was the conversation you had with Ms. Olujobi later that day? Six ways from Sunday abi. What was that about? Girl stuff. Where's Chiamaka? She's at home. I knew I'd find you here. How so? You know-- you know I'm not really married, right? We had a fling during NYSC and I got her pregnant. We got married, and she lost the baby. It was easier to stay married than to fight her father. He is a general in the army and a devout Catholic. Anyway, she moved to England after the miscarriage. She lives there. I live here. So why is she around? She saw the report that CNN Africa did on the Jaguar Capital investment. She wants to ensure she gets her share of the Silicon Valley cake. As long as she doesn't change what I built here. I'll always be your best friend. And what if I want you to be more than that? Are you ready to fight an angry Catholic general? For you I'll fight a thousand. You essentially promised her marriage. Mr. Bucknor, Ms. Horsfall will have to choose. She cannot argue that Mr. Sanni coerced Ms. Olujobi into a relationship whilst also arguing that he deceived her into one. I disagree. My client was indeed coerced, but the promise of marriage bought her silence. In fact, Mr. Sanni himself testified that the break came in when the promise of marriage was no longer an option. Mr. Sanni then moved to punish her for trying to leave him. Your reasoning is sound. Mr. Sanni, you may answer the question. I stand by my answer. The relationship was consensual. So why did you oppose her return? -Excuse me? -Mr. Utah testified that you insisted the purchase exclude Ms. Olujobi. She left the company. Yes, because the affair ended. Did she suddenly become unqualified for the position? We had an affair. It would have been awkward. Besides, integrations are difficult enough as it is. So you frustrated the advancement of an employee, because of your relationship with her? Do not answer that, Mr. Sanni. I have to protest, Mr. Bucknor. Ms. Horsfall is now trying to argue that the decision to exclude Ms. Olujobi was based on sexual harassment. While in fact, in that instance, Ms. Olujobi was no longer an employee of Iwaju Limited. How could it have been sexual harassment? Actually, she was. As the court and Mr. Bucknor have ruled, Ms. Olujobi was an employee of Iwaju when all of this was happening. This is absurd. Furthermore, Mr. Utah offered to have Ms. Olujobi withdraw her resignation to make things tidier for everyone. Mr. Sanni refused. He did not testify to that. We can call him back. Or we can ask Mr. Sanni for his own recollection of events. Mr. Bucknor, this case is predicated upon an alleged assault by Mr. Sanni on Ms. Olujobi. Now, there's been a whole lot of talk today. But nothing, and I repeat, nothing we've heard validates Ms. Olujobi's version of events. The pattern established before and after the incident clearly provides circumstantial evidence for Ms. Olujobi's claim about that event. We have also provided evidence for sexual harassment, both before and after the alleged assault. Mr. Bucknor, we have no more witnesses. Therefore, we ask that you rule, bearing in mind the unsubstantiated nature of the central claim. We'll take an hour recess. And when we return, we'll take a decision. Let's go. You shouldn't be here. I just want to talk. There's nothing to talk about. We can talk about you trying to take my company from me. You took the company from me first. You swore to me that you did everything you could for me while negotiating with Jaguar. You ended up with 30% when you could have had 16%. They were going to give me that anyway. You made me wait seven years. They wanted to give you my shares. Of course I was going to set conditions. And I was right. You left. I left. I left. You got her pregnant. You were supposed to go to London to get a divorce. And instead, you got her pregnant. It wasn't like that. I went to get the divorce as we planned. She told me I used our wedding money to start Iwaju and threatened to sue me if I dared divorce her. None of this explains the pregnancy. She wanted something to ensure her hold on me. She wanted a baby. I tried to explain, but you never gave me a chance. -Listen. I couldn't lose Iwaju. -But you could lose me. Well, I thought I could have both of you. You thought I'd keep letting you put Iwaju before me. Even if you won, they'd never let you run it. You really want to let the fruit of our labor be run by Chijioke? So now it's our labor. -At least, he didn't rape me. -I didn't rape you. -Listen. I didn't rape you. -There's nobody else here. You don't have to pretend. I'm pretending? Fuck this. I'm pretending? You wore a dress I gave you. Perfume I bought you. You knew it was going to happen. You wanted it to happen. Is that a confession? I think you planned this thing from the start. Dara, did you ever love me? Because I don't see how somebody who did, would do this to me. Funny. I was just thinking the same about you. So what do you make of all this? Sir? This so-called rape. I don't think it's in my position to comment. But honestly, do you think it's actually possible for someone to rape someone without force the way they are describing? During my first year in the university, the dean invited another girl and I into his office. He told us about how his wife was always away on business and he had to watch a lot of porn to keep himself from misbehaving. He even told us how his favorite videos were two girls and a guy. He then told us how difficult it was to enter law school and how we had to try our possible best to make sure we got in. The other girl thanked him and said she had a prayer meeting to attend. And you? What did you do? Do you regret your choice? You know, Yemisi, the other girl, I saw her about one year ago. She's a cashier at KFC. I'm entering law school next semester. We're ready for you. Thank you all for your time today. I am now in the position to reach a ruling. Having heard the testimony of Mr. Sanni, Ms. Olujobi, and the others, I find it hard to make a determination of sexual harassment. While the relationship seemed to have been instigated by Mr. Sanni, testimony shows that it was largely consensual. With respect to the incident in question, both parties proffered differing views about the situation. And no evidence given here today contradicts that fact. However, Ms. Olujobi was forced to leave the company due to an untenable relationship situation created by the CEO. And I do not think she should be penalized for that. So I am granting Ms. Olujobi shares amounting to 30% of Iwaju Limited. Point of correction, Mr. Bucknor. Iwaju Limited completed the merger post contract. Post contract. Therefore, I respectfully ask that the grant be limited to the shares of the pre-merger Iwaju. The agreement calls for the issuance of shares amounting to 30% of the company. And there's no room for additional shares having been issued. This is an issue created by the company, because of the sweeping nature of the grant award. He can't do this. How can he do this? Let me deal with this. Mr. Bucknor, I have to respectfully ask, if you fail to reach a finding of sexual harassment, how could you grant Ms. Olujobi the shares? Mr. Sanni here admitted that the relationship between him and Ms. Olujobi was not only the reason she quit but also the reason she was not reinstated. If not for the relationship, Ms. Olujobi would still be in the company and have a chance to earn her shares. To my mind, Mr. Sanni effectively forced Ms. Olujobi to give up millions of dollars, and that is the sort of injustice that this panel is made to correct. This is bullshit! Well, this concludes my arbitration. The details of the ruling and the proceedings will be circulated shortly. -Thank you all. -Fix this. Mr. Bucknor, this is not the end. We are going to appeal this. Mr. Bucknor. Mr. Bucknor. You will find, Mr. Sanni, that arbitral awards tend to be upheld. I doubt your company will appeal. What is the meaning of this? Miss Yusuf asked me to engage Ms. Olujobi should events go her way today. Engage how? To inform her that her shares will be issued according to the ruling. I am the CEO and largest shareholder at Iwaju. Mariam cannot make that decision without me. Ms. Yusuf is Jaguar Capital's representative, and along with Mr. Utah, form a majority of the shareholding and the board. She issued joint instructions on both their behalves. Instructions? The board has decided to give Ms. Olujobi her old job back. Look. I will sue. I will sue for-- Gbenga, shut up. And I would seriously advise against that. Now, recall that these proceedings are private. A court case, on the other hand, will not be. Ms. Olujobi, Jaguar Capital also asked me to inform you that they're more than willing to buy your shares on the same terms on which the Super VAS deal was done. Jaguar will not take my company from me. Do you hear me? Fuck! Fuck! Look. Chiamaka, I-- It seems I would owe you an apology if you hadn't fucked him in the end. The problem was always him. Never you. I'll match Jaguar's offer for the shares. I think you better go. You know I did-- I do love you. I'm sorry we didn't win. I got my job and my money back. How is that not a victory? You could force him out. I'll have the board name you the new CEO of Iwaju. Or you could take your money and build something new. See who you are when you aren't stuck behind a man. -I'm sorry. -No. You're right. Going back is a waste of time. He was the love of my life. Yeah. You need better taste in men. It's true. He was an asshole. Yeah. You're right. I still have one more question though. What? How did you manage to not get beat up? Please. That was easy. I bribed them. Doubled what Chiamaka paid. The best 300k I ever spent. Man. |
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