Omotola in court over breach of contract

Top Nollywood actress, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde who just back from  Jamaica where  she  reportedly finalised  some juicy contracts, has engaged the services of popular Lagos lawyer and human rights activist, Festus Keyamo to defend her in a case of  breach of contract filed against her company, Redhot Concepts Limited by an up and coming lawyer, Keshi Elvis who holds brief for Megafield Solicitors.

According to the lawyer, trouble started when the latter failed to honour the contractual agreement they entered into in 2010.

He said all entreaties he made to Omotola and her company to honour the agreement hit brick wall, a situation which prompted his decision to  seek redress in court.

Narrating how he met Omotola, the young lawyer said   one Isaac  who was his younger brother ‘s colleague in his  office introduced him to the actress some  two years ago (February, 2010. ). Isaac had hinted his younger brother that Omotola was  in dire need of a young and vibrant lawyer to  handle her briefs. According to Isaac, Omotola’s former lawyer wasn’t handling her briefs satisfactorily and it was on this  premise  that  Elvis was introduced to the actress.

The lawyer stated further that “Omotola’s number was made available to me and after  series of telephone discussions, we scheduled an appointment in her office. Then, she was having issues with Africa Independent Television, AIT following a programme on Kakakii, where Omotola was said to have travelled to the United States to carry out breast enlargement.”

“I wrote a letter to the management of DAAR Communications, owners of  AIT and Raypower 100.5. The  matter was eventually resolved via retraction on the same programme and a letter of apology tendered by the company’s law firm representing Jumoke Alao.”

“ Impressed on how I  handled the matterwith AIT and other assignments, the actress  entered into contractual agreement  with my firm, where I insisted that my annual retainership fee would be N500,000. She negotiated for N200,000 per annum retainership fee. I prepared an MOU and after studying it, she invited me on 22nd or 23rd of February, 2010 for the execution of the MOU.” he recounted.

Meanwhile, in the memorandum of Understanding signed by Omotola’s company  and the lawyer, Keshi explained that the actress agreed to pay him  the sum of N200,000 annually as his retainership fee in addition to paying him also a professional fee as well as out of pocket expenses incurred by me while  handling her  brief which she did not honour.

“Both parties, without coercion,  signed the agreement. I have since carried out all instructions from Redhot concepts through Omotola”Elvis said.

According to the young laywer, since  the MoU,was endorsed,   he  has  only received a cheque of N50,000 from Omotola. He has gone to court  to demand for the balance of his retainership agreement for 2010 (N150,000) and the retainership agreement for 2011 ( 200,000) as well as fee for services rendered between this period which amounted to  N1,150,000.

“In February 2012, I wrote Omotola  where I terminated our agreement, with a letter of demand.. She ignored me all this while.”

However, in a counter affidavit from Omotola’s counsel, Festus Keyamo ,  and which was made available to WG, the actress agreed  owing the complainant the sum of N350,000, and not N1,150,000”as he claimed. The case came up yesterday, at the Magistrate court 1, Ikeja, Lagos.

Meanwhile, efforts to contact Omotola over the telephone to get her own side of the story proved abortive as her  cell phones were switched off.