Orders him to pay N1.3bn 
•We’ll challenge judgement – Management 
The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos yesterday put the legal battle between minority shareholders and business mogul, Jimoh Ibrahim, over the ownership of Newswatch Communications Limited (NCL) to rest.
After several months of legal fireworks over the ownership of NCL, Publisher of Newswatch magazine, Justice Ibrahim Buba, in a landmark judgment, quashed the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA), which transferred ownership of NCL to Global Media Mirror Limited owned by Jimoh Ibrahim. The court asked Global Media Mirror Limited and Jimoh Ibrahim to pay an average of N5 million monthly to NCL from when the magazine was shut down till the date of judgement. The publication of Newswatch magazine was reportedly stopped in August 2012.
The court also awarded N15.7 million special damages against the respondents and halted further publication of Newswatch Daily.
Meanwhile, the management of Newswatch Communications Limited said it had filed a notice of appeal against the judgement. The minority shareholders who instituted the suit were Mr. Nuhu Aruwa and Prof. Jibril Aminu, while the respondents were Newswatch Communications Limited, Global Media Mirror Limited, Ibrahim, Newswatch Newspapers and Corporate Affairs Commission.
In his judgement, Justice Buba upheld all the prayers of the minority shareholders, who had filed the suit challenging the validity of the takeover of the company.
Holding that the petitioners’ case had merit, Justice Buba said: “The court grants all the reliefs as set out in the petition at the inception of this case as follows: an order setting aside the contract entered into between the first and (second) respondent companies by virtue of document titled ‘Share Purchase Agreement’ between Newswatch Communications Limited ‘seller’ and Global Media Mirror Limited ‘buyer’ and executed by the parties therein on or about May 2011.
But reacting to the judgement, the management of Newswatch Communications Limited said it had already commenced the process of challenging Justice Buba’s decision at the Court of Appeal.
A statement by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Newswatch Newspapers Limited, Moses Jolayemi, said Justice Buba’s verdict was in conflict with the decision of Justice Okon Abang in Suit No. FHC/L/C5/1054/2012.

Court sacks Jimoh Ibrahim from Newswatch