Court refuses to stop impeachment moves against Fayose
April 09, 2015 - 08:44 Nigerian Tribune
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Writer:
Sunday Ejike -Abuja
Gov. Fayose
A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, declined granting an ex parte application seeking to stop impeachment moves against the Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose and his deputy, Kolapo Olusola.
The court sitting before Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed, rather, ordered the defendants in the suit, including the All Progressives Congress (APC) factional Speaker of the House of Assembly, Adewale Omirin and the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Ayodeji Daramola, to appear in court on April 16, to show cause why the order of interim injunction being sought by the plaintiffs, halting the impeachment proceedings, should not be granted.
The court only granted prayers contained in the ex parte application, relating to service of the court processes on the defendants.
Apart from Omirin and Justice Daramola, other defendants in the suit were the Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The plaintiffs in the suit are the Speaker of the House of Assembly (described as being occupied by the Peoples Democratic Party factional speaker, Olugbemi Joseph Dele); Ekiti State House of Assembly, Fayose and Olusola.
Counsel for the plaintiffs, Ahmed Raji, in the application dated and filed on April 7, 2015, urged the court to grant the interim injunction setting aside the impeachment notice already served on the governor and the deputy and also restraining the defendants from taking any further steps in the impeachment moves.
The lawyer argued that the act by Omirin to issue an impeachment notice and serve same on the governor and the deputy governor as speaker of the House of Assembly amounted to impersonating the incumbent speaker.
The plaintiffs had urged the court to grant the prayers and make the interim injunctions to subsist, pending the determination of their motion on notice for interlocutory injunctions seeking the same set of prayers.
Raji urged the court to grant the prayers “in the interest of justice, public order, peace and safety of the people of the state.”
The trial judge, in his ruling, ordered the parties to appear in court to convince it why the plaintiffs’ prayers for interim injunction should not be granted.
Justice Mohammed ruled that “the order is hereby made directing the 1st to 4th defendants (Omirin, IGP, INEC and Ekiti CJ), to appear before this court on April 16 and show cause why the interim order sought by the plaintiffs via an ex parte motion dated April 7, 2015 should not be made by this court.”
The court granted leave to serve Omirin and Justice Daramola, who reside in Ekiti State, outside jurisdiction and also ordered that Omirin and the Ekiti State Chief Judge be served through advertisement in a national newspaper.
It also made a separate order that the Chief Judge be served with processes of court through the office of the Chief Registrar of of the Ekiti State High Court.
Justice Mohammed ordered that hearing notices be served on all the defendants and adjourned the matter till April 16.
