A Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday fixed 7 November to rule on a
fundamental rights enforcement suit seeking the reinstatement of
impeached Governor of Adamawa State, Malam Murtala Nyako.
Justice Okon Abang reserved his ruling after hearing arguments by counsel of parties in the suit.
NAN
reports that a Lagos-based lawyer, Mr Olukoya Ogungbeje, had filed the
suit in August challenging the legality of Nyako’s impeachment on July,
15.
Ogungbeje had argued that Nyako’s impeachment was a clear
derogation from the due process of law and prayed the court for an order
reinstating him as a governor.
Respondents in the suit are former
acting governor of Adamawa State, Mr Umaru Fintiri, Adamawa State House
of Assembly and the Acting Chief Judge of the State, Justice Ambrose
Mammadi.
Others are Justice Buba Kajama, (Chairman of the
seven-member panel that investigated allegations of gross misconduct
against Nyako), Independent National Electoral Commission and the
Inspector General of Police.
At the resumed hearing of the suit,
the defence counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), said that the third
respondent (Acting Chief Judge of Adamawa) was not served the court
processes.
He said that it would only be fair for the said respondent to be given an opportunity to put in his defence.
Olanipekun
also faulted the service of processes on Fintiri and the Adamawa State
House of Assembly through the Liaison office in Lagos.
He argued
that the affidavit of service reflected the name of one Mr Kasumu
Bauchi, who was unknown at the Adamawa Liaison office in Lagos.
The
defence counsel also submitted that the suit to challenge the
impeachment of a governor could only be filed in the state where it was
done and therefore the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the case.
He
said that in view of this and the fact that Nyako had also instituted
action to challenge his impeachment at an Adamawa State High Court in
Yola, the suit amounted to an abuse of court process.
Responding,
Ogungbeje said it was clear that the applications filed by Olanipekun
were clearly intended to scuttle the judgment of the court which was
previously fixed for 30 September.
He urged Justice Abang to
discountenance the arguments of defence counsel and write his name in
gold by doing substantial justice in the suit by ordering the
reinstatement of Nyako.
He submitted that the judgment of the
Federal High Court in Abuja which held that Nyako’s deputy, Mr James
Ngilari, did not resign in the eyes of the law, had cleared the way for
Justice Abang to do justice in the case.
After listening to the
submissions of counsel, Justice Abang said he would first rule on the
application to suspend proceedings filed by Olanipekun.
The judge
held that if the applications are dismissed, the reserved judgment would
be delivered, but where it succeeds, the necessary consequential orders
would be made.
He consequently adjourned the suit to 7 November for ruling.
NAN
reports that in the suit, Ogungbeje had argued that Nyako’s impeachment
was a clear departure from the due process of law, and prayed the court
for an order reinstating him.
He argued that the failure of the
respondents to serve the impeachment notice personally on Nyako was a
breach of the impeached governor’s right to fair hearing and fair trial.
Specifically,
Ogungbeje is seeking a declaration that the inauguration of the
seven-member panel by the state Chief Judge after an order stopping the
Adamawa State House of Assembly from constituting the panel was biased.
The
lawyer, therefore, wants the court to declare that the constitution and
inauguration of the panel against a subsisting order of court, was
contemptuous, and a flagrant violation of the constitution.
The suit is also urging the court to nullify Nyako’s impeachment of July 15.
No comments:
Post a Comment