Tag: Court

The Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday nullified the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Southwest congress held at the weekend.

Justice Ibrahim Buba held that the zonal congress was held despite a court order stopping it.

Last Wednesday, the judge restrained the PDP and its national chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff, from conducting any election into the party’s Southwest Zonal Executive Committee.

The judge made the order following an application by the incumbent Zonal Secretary, Chief ‘Pegba Otemolu, who sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), PDP, Sheriff and PDP National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo

The plaintiff, through his lawyer, Ajibola Oluyede, in a motion on notice, sought an order nullifying the congress held last Saturday in Akure for being held in violation of a court order.

Oluyede said the defendants were served with the order and originating processes and were therefore aware of the court action yet went ahead with the congress.

Ruling, Justice Buba nullified the congress, holding that it was conducted in defiance of the court’s order.

He said it was in breach of the doctrine of lis pendense.

“Judges must defend their courts. Let’s rise and defend our integrity. Parties cannot jump the gun and do their own thing in their own way. That will result in social disequilibrium.

“Once a party is aware of a suit, the party must maintain status quo. Parties are to obey an order, whether rightly or wrongly made, until it is set aside,” he said.

He, therefore, nullified the congress because the respondents refused to show why the order was not obeyed.

Justice Buba gave the ruling despite protests by PDP’s lawyer Dr Yemi Oke, who said his clients were not duly served.

Oke referred to a letter in which Sheriff denied authorising any lawyer to file a suit on his behalf or represent him.

He said: “This is a very desperate and sad situation imposed on us by certain desperate politicians whose antecedents are known.

“We surprisingly heard that this court, on May 11, procured an order by fraud and gross mischief.

“The motion was dated May 4 and filed on May 5. The second and third defendants (PDP and Sherriff) were never served and never appointed any counsel to stand in for them. This is a ruling procured by fraud.”

Oke referred to a letter by Sherriff in which he denied a related suit on the party’s election into national offices. An order was also purportedly made on the suit.

Sheriff, in the letter to his lead counsel, Ahmed Raji (SAN), wrote: “I understand my name and that of the PDP have been used as plaintiffs in the above suit.

“I, hereby, state that I know nothing about the case and neither did I authorise anybody to file the case in the name of the party.

“You have my instructions and that of the party to take necessary steps to disassociate myself and the party from the said suit with immediate effect.”

The PDP and Sheriff have filed an application praying for an order setting aside the proceedings that led to the ruling stopping the Southwest congress.

They also brought an application for an order staying execution of the order made on May 11, pending the determination of their appeal against it.

In their notice of appeal, PDP and Sherriff said Justice Buba erred in law by assuming jurisdiction over a subject-matter he had no jurisdiction over because it is an intra-party dispute.

By issuing the interlocutory injunction, the appellants said the judge occasioned “a grave miscarriage of justice”.

 

 

The Federal High Court in Lagos has restrained the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its National Chairman, Ali Modu Sheriff, from conducting any election into the party’s Southwest Zonal Executive Committee.

Justice Ibrahim Buba barred PDP from recognising any such election, until the originating summons is determined.

The zonal congress is scheduled to hold tomorrow in Akure, Ondo State and Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State.

The judge made the order, following an application by the Zonal Secretary, Chief ‘Pegba Otemolu.

He is suing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), PDP, Sheriff and PDP National Secretary, Prof. Wale Oladipo.

The plaintiff is praying the court to hold that it was wrong for the party and its national officers to contemplate organising a zonal congress for the Southwest when the tenure of the Zonal Executive Committee members had not lapsed.

He contended that since members of the zonal exco were elected on October 11, 2014 to serve four years tenure, their term would end on October 11, 2018.

Granting the prayer, Justice Buba held: “That an order of interlocutory injunction is granted to the plaintiff/applicant restraining the second, third and fourth defendants from conducting or permitting or recognising any election into the offices of the South West Zonal Executive Committee pending the hearing and determination of the originating summons.”

The implication is that the Chief Makanjuola Ogundipe-led zonal exco will continue in office until the suit is determined.

Justice Buba adjourned till May 24 for hearing.

But Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose said the congress slated for Akure, Ondo State, will hold as scheduled.

The governor, who addressed reporters at the PDP National Secretariat in Abuja yesterday, said materials for the Congress had been distributed through the appropriate authority.

He said the party was not aware of any court order, stopping the

congress and as such, machinery is in motion for a hitch-free congress.

“I can confirm that materials for the congress have been handed to the Congress Committee and the committee is set for the Congress.

“Anyone talking about court order is only deceiving himself and it is now time for the party to operate devoid of any abracadabra court orders.

“I, therefore, urge all delegates and leaders of our party to converge on Akure tomorrow for the congress as scheduled,” the governor said.

Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja yesterday ended the dispute over who represents Ode-Irele in the Ondo State House of Assembly.

The judge upheld Gbadebo Akinola Odimayo’s claim to the seat.

Justice Mohammed held that Odimayo is the authentic candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Ode-Irele Constituency in the 2015 election.

Odimayo, who contested for a ticket under the platform of the PDP sued his party (PDP) for allegedly substituting his name in the final list submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He claimed that he won the party’s primary held in November 2014 at the St. Peters Catholic Hall in Irele, with 35 votes while the first runner-up, Philip Ajimotoki scored 23 of 58 votes.

The plaintiff urged the court to declare his substitution illegal and unlawful.

Odimayo also requested for an order for the restoration of his mandate as well as an interlocutory injunction restraining INEC and PDP from recognising Ajimotoki.

Justice Mohammed, while upholding the plaintiff’s case, said, having read the plaintiff’s affidavit and the defendants’ counter-affidavits, and listened to the submissions of lawyers, the only issue for determination is whether or not the plaintiff won the primary election of the PDP for Ode-Irele constituency.

The judge said it was not in contention that election was conducted by the State Executive Committee on November 29, 2014 in which the plaintiff emerged as winner.

The judge dismissed the defendants’ argument that the primary conducted by the PDP’s National Executive Committee was the authentic one.

He faulted the first defendant (Ajimotoki) for not reporting his allegation that INEC officials requested for financial inducement before they would supervise the election he claimed held in Irele secretariat that returned him as the winner of that election.

The judge was of the view that the only election INEC confirmed to have monitored and supervised was the one won by the plaintiff.

He added that from available evidence before him the plaintiff was issued with a certificate of return and his name sent to Abuja.

“All evidences pointed to the fact that the plaintiff won the highest number of votes cast,” the judge said.

Justice Mohammed, who noted that the PDP failed to abide by the provisions of its constitution, in its handling of the case, held that “it was therefore wrong for the second defendant (PDP) to substitute the name of the plaintiff with the first defendant”.

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja yesterday refused to entertain motions for stay of proceedings in the case involving Senate President Bukola Saraki, ex-National Security Adviser (NSA) Sambo Dasuki and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) spokesman Olisa Metuh.

A three-man panel of the appellate court, presided over by Justice Abdul Aboki, took the stance on the appeals by Saraki, Dasuki and Metuh.

Justice Aboki, at the mention of Metuh’s appeal, said: “We have decided that we will not hear motion for stay of proceedings. You should go back to the court to argue your application before the court and pursue your appeal before us.”

Efforts by Metuh’s lawyer Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) to persuade the court to reverse itself failed.

Ikpeazu prayed to be allowed to convince the court on the merit of the motion for stay of proceedings he filed for his client.

But Justice Aboki refused, insisting: “We are not going to allow that. Even if you file it, we are going to dismiss it straightaway.”

The PDP spokesman and his firm, Destra Investments Limited, are being tried on a seven-count charge before Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

They allegedly laundered $2 million and unlawfully accepted N400 million from Dasuki.

They had appealed Justice Abang’s ruling dismissing their no-case submissions. They filed separate appeals.

Yesterday, Ikpeazu, who filed processes on behalf of Metuh and Destra, withdrew his representation for Destra and was replaced by Tochukwu Onwugbufor (SAN).

On the appeal by Saraki, his lawyer, Kanu Agabi (SAN), acting on the court’s position not to entertain motion for stay of proceedings, withdrew a similar motion he filed.

Saraki, who is being tried for alleged false declaration of assets at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), is appealing the March 24 ruling by the tribunal. The CCT insisted it had jurisdiction to try the Senate president.

Also, Dasuki’s lawyer Joseph Daudu (SAN) elected to wait before deciding whether or not to withdraw the motion for a stay of proceeding he filed.

He said he would await the response by the respondent before making a decision.

“If I see the respondent’s brief, I will be able to make the decision,” Daudu said.

The respondent, Federal  Government, is represented by Rotimi Jacobs (SAN).

Dasuki is appealing two separate ruling by Justices Hussein Baba-Yusuf and Peter Affen of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Maitama, Abuja.

Both judges dismissed Dasuki’s motion to stop his trial, among others.

Justices Yusuf and Affen, in their ruling on February 8 and March 4, dismissed Dasuki’s motions for an order restraining the Federal Government from further prosecuting him on the two charges of diversion of funds meant for procurement of arms.

A similar motion by Dasuki was dismissed on April 19 by Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The Court of Appeal announced yesterday that parties would be informed about the next hearing dates in the appeals by Saraki and Dasuki.

 

 

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday said it has secured the conviction of a former member of the Kogi State House of Assembly and former Caretaker Chairman, Ogori/Magongo Local Government Area of the state, Gabriel Daudu, for a N1.4billion fraud.

The Federal High Court on Lokoja jailed Daudu for 154 years.

Daudu, who was first arraigned in April 2010, was prosecuted by the EFCC on a 208 count- charge bordering on money laundering and misappropriation of public funds.

According to a statement by the Head of Media and publicity of EFCC. Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, Daudu was convicted by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Lokoja.

The statement said: “Justice Ekwo found him guilty of 77 counts and sentenced him to 154 years imprisonment.

“In his ruling, the trial judge, held that the prosecution proved its case beyond every reasonable doubt, and therefore sentenced Daudu to two years on each of the 77 counts to run concurrently.

“Before the conviction of Daudu, prosecuting counsel, Wahab Shittu, tendered various exhibits before the court and fielded 13 witnesses to prove the case against him.

“It would be recalled that in the course of the trial presided over by Justice Ekwo, had indicated that the trial might have to start afresh as the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, had asked Justice P.M. Ayuba of the Lokoja Division of the court to take over the case.

“However, Shittu  pleaded with Justice Auta to review the decision. The Chief Judge, thereafter, returned the case file to Justice Ekwo, who has now found Daudu guilty of the 77 counts.”

Federal High Court sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, yesterday dismissed two cases filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC), seeking  to stop tomorrow’s local government election.

The court described the two cases as abuse of court process.  Justice Folashade Olubanjo said the Federal High Court does not have jurisdiction to hear such cases.

The judge added that it would amount to judicial pettiness to proceed with the suit when issues on the dissolution of the former councils are still before the Supreme Court.

Justice Olubanjo also said proceeding with the interlocutory injunction on the case was a mere academic exercise as facts deduced from arguments and counter arguments show that the suits are gross abuse of court process.

The APC yesterday said it would not participate in the election.

A statement by its Director of Media and Publicity, Steve Otaloro, said the voter register has not been reviewed as required by law.

The statement reads:”Our decision not to participate in the election was discussed at the State Executive Committee meeting.

 “The conclusion reached was that Governor Olusegun Mimiko and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-government cannot do anything right.

“Several times, the governor has deceived the people and this election is no exception. He cannot be trusted to conduct any free and fair election.

“To participate is to help massage Mimiko’s ego, support illegality and allow party supporters to be distracted from the mission of taking over from the PDP.

“There is a subsisting case at the Supreme Court by aggrieved chairmen elected under the late Dr Olusegun Agagu-led administration, who Mimiko sacked in 2009.

“The governor had been refrained from conducting the local government election.

“Why then the sudden rush to conduct the same election in less than 10 months to the end of his tenure?

“Conducting a new election before judgment is delivered could amount to illegality.

“The process might just be an exercise in futility in case the Supreme Court rules in favour of the plaintiff.”

The party said the State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) is composed of PDP members, saying “we cannot participate in an election where the Chairman, Prof. Olugbenga Ige and his team are registered PDP members”.