A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has adjourned till January 13, 2025, to hear a suit brought before it by the Rivers State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, against the Umar Damagun-led national leadership of the party.
The trial Judge, Justice Peter Lifu fixed the date on Tuesday, following an application for adjournment moved by the defence lawyers to enable them to regularise and file their processes in the suit.
The plaintiffs, Aaron Chukwuemeka, Oye Fubara Igenewari, and ThankGod Bekee, who sued on behalf of themselves and the state, local government, and ward executive committees (EXCOs) of the PDP respectfully, had filed the suit numbered, FHC/ABJ/CS/1396/2024, with
the PDP, Damagun, acting national chairman, Samuel Anyanwu, the party’s secretary, Umar Bature, National Working Committee (NWC), National Executive Committee (NEC), and Board of Trustees (BOT) as 1st to 7th defendants.
Others are the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Alhaji Bala Mohammed, chairman of the PDP Governors Forum as 8th to 9th defendants respectively.
The plaintiffs had approached the court to stop the defendants from dissolving the Rivers State Executive Committee (SEC) and others, at the local government and ward levels.
It would be recalled Justice Lifu had, on September 24, made an interim order restraining the national leadership of the party from dissolving the state’s executive committees after an ex-parte motion moved by Joshua Musa, SAN, on behalf of the plaintiffs.
The Judge equally stopped them from constituting any interim committee to replace the officers of the party at the state, local government, and ward levels who are loyal to the FCT minister and former governor of Rivers.
He also ordered the PDP national body and others, listed as defendants not to tamper with the local government and ward leadership of the party in Rivers, elected along with the SEC this year at various congresses of the party.
Justice Lifu also ordered that on no ground should the tenure of the executive committees at the state, local governments, and the wards be truncated by the defendants pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
In the motion argued by Musa, the plaintiffs had alleged that the defendants were making clandestine moves to dissolve the legally constituted state, local government, and ward executives committees of the party in the state.
They also alleged that the defendants, including the PDP governors, were also attempting to put in place interim committees to replace them to perform their duties and functions and asserted that, unless the defendants were restrained from carrying out the alleged unlawful act, they would be made to suffer injustice and losses.
During the proceedings in the matter on Tuesday, Musa, who appeared for the plaintiffs, moved a motion to regularise their processes in response to the defendants’ applications served on them and the Judge granted it after it was not opposed by the defence lawyers.
Ahmed Mohammed, who represented the 8th defendant (INEC), also moved a motion to regularise his processes and was granted by the court, while Sunday Ameh, SAN, informed the court that he was just being briefed about the matter and had just filed a memorandum of conditional appearance in the matter on behalf of the 2nd to 4th defendants.
Ameh, therefore, sought an adjournment to enable him to file all their processes in the matter.
Also, Emmanuel Enoidem, SAN, who appeared for the 9th defendant (PDP Governors Forum), sought an adjournment to enable him to put his house in order.
Following a no objection to the application for adjournment by the plaintiffs and other lawyers in the suit, Justice Lifu adjourned till next year for further hearing in the matter.
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