Tag Archives: court suit

Court Dismisses Adamawa Lawmaker’s Suit Against Suspension

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A Yola High Court presided over by Justice Ambrose Mammadi has struck out a suit by a member of the Adamawa House of Assembly, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abubakar, challenging his suspension by the House for three months.

 

Abubakar represents Mubi South Constituency in the House on the platform of the APC.
Mammadi in a ruling on Thursday in Yola said the court has no jurisdiction to interfere in the affairs of the legislature.
Mammadi, who ruled on the preliminary objection by the respondents challenging the court jurisdiction to entertain the suit, declared that the matter was an internal affair of the House and was therefore struck out.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Abubakar had in 2015 dragged the Speaker, Alhaji Kabiru Mijinyawa, and the Assembly to court over his suspension for three months and dissolution of the House Committee on Finance, which he chaired.
The state Attorney General was later joined in the suit as a 3rd respondent.
Abubakar was suspended in November 2015 for improper dressing and violation of the House rules.
The suspension followed Abubakar’s media interview in which he criticised the Assembly’s decision to approve a sectoral virement for the executive in the 2015 budget.
Commenting on the ruling, counsel to the respondents, Mr M. A. Abdulkadir, described it as “a well considered judgement”.
On his part, counsel to the plaintiff, Mr Ever Udo, said “we may consider appeal”.
But in his reaction, Abubakar said “I leave the matter to God”.

 

(NAN)

Anxiety As Judge Adjourns Suit To Stop Buhari Till Today

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There was anxiety in the camp of the All Progressives Congress on Tuesday as a Federal High Court in Abuja fixed Wednesday (today) for further proceedings in one of the suits challenging the eligibility of the presidential candidate of the APC, General Muhammadu Buhari, to contest in Saturday’s presidential election. Justice Adeniyi Ademola is to rule on fresh applications by intended parties seeking to join the suits as defendants.

The judge fixed Wednesday for the ruling after hearing the intended parties’ applications on Tuesday.

Those whose applications for joining the suit as defendants were heard on Tuesday are:

Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, Chukwuma Ochu, Sunusi Musa, Ahmed Maitarki and the Fiscal and Civil Rights Enlightenment Foundation.

The suit was filed on January 26, 2015 by a lawyer, Chukwunweike Okafor, asking the court to declare Buhari ineligible to contest the presidential election slated for Saturday over his (Buhari’s) alleged failure to submit his school certificate along with his Form CF001 to INEC.

The Plaintiff’s counsel, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), had in his objection to the applications of the intended defendants, described the applicants as interlopers.

The existing defendants in the suit are INEC, Buhari and the APC.

Earlier on Tuesday, the judge ruled that he would hear both the main suit and Buhari’s preliminary applications challenging the court’s jurisdiction together.

The plaintiff, through his counsel, Ozekhome, insisted that both the main suit and the preliminary applications should be heard together.

But Buhari and the APC had urged the court to hear and determine their preliminary applications which bordered on the court’s jurisdiction first before entertaining the main suit.

The court agreed with the plaintiff and ruled that he would entertain the preliminary applications and the main suit together.

But when the suit will be heard depends on the outcome of the court’s ruling on the applications of intended parties in the suit.

Buhari and the APC had challenged the mode of service of the plaintiff’s originating summons on them, insisting that the issue bordered on the jurisdiction of the court.

Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), who is representing Buhari and Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), counsel for the APC, had while opposing the plaintiff’s prayer to quickly hear the suit, argued that there was no law stipulating that pre-election cases must be heard before the conduct of the elections.