The leadership of the Independent
National Electoral Commission on Tuesday was confused on whether to
monitor or stay away from Wednesday’s (today) national convention of the
Peoples Democratic Party in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Justice Okon Abang of a Federal High
Court in Abuja on Tuesday had insisted that the PDP must stop its
planned national convention.
The judge gave a stern warning to the
Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahood Yakubu, not to monitor the convention.
The judge also ordered the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris,
to enforce the court’s order.
Justice Abang’s order is contrary to
another order by Justice Ibrahim Watila of the Port Harcourt Division of
the Federal High Court, directing the IGP to monitor the convention.
Warning that the disobedience of court
orders could cause anarchy, Justice Watila pointed out that the National
Caretaker Committee of the PDP remained the executive authority in all
matters concerning the party.
Our correspondent, who visited the
headquarters of the commission in Abuja on Tuesday, was told by some
national commissioners that INEC was in a dilemma over which order of
the different courts it should obey concerning the convention.
It was learnt that the commission had
sent a delegation to Port Harcourt, based on the Rivers State court
ruling, mandating it to monitor the convention.
The ruling of Justice Okon Abang on
Tuesday, insisting that INEC must stay away from the convention, was
said to have put the commission in a dilemma over what to do.
One of the national commissioners, who
spoke on condition of anonymity, said while the commission was willing
to obey court orders, the two judgments had put it in a state of
confusion.
He said, “ We have just been told that
we should not be at the convention on the order of Justice Abang. Yet,
another court in Port Harcourt said we must be there. These are same
courts with same powers under the same President, because the Federal
High Court in the country is headed by a President.
“Are these judges reading different laws or constitution? Can’t the President of the Federal High Court call his men to order?
“If we go to Port Harcourt for the
convention, a judge will say we flouted his order and if we don’t go,
another one will frown at our action.”
The Director, Publicity and Voters
Education, INEC, Mr. Oluwole Osaze, told our correspondent that the
commission was waiting to be served with the order of Justice Abang
before deciding on the next step to take.
He said, “We are in dilemma over which
order to obey for now. One order asks us to go, another says we should
not. We are waiting to be served with the order of Justice Abang before
knowing what to do.”
A deputy director in the same
department, Mr. Nick Danzang, said the officials of the commission were
on standby in Port Harcourt.
He said, “Although the commission has
been served the Port Harcourt court judgment, it has yet to be served
the Abuja court judgment by Justice Abang.
“In the meantime, our monitoring workers are on standby.”
Don’t monitor PDP convention, judge warns INEC
Justice Abang had on Tuesday turned the
interim order, stopping the PDP national convention, into an
interlocutory injunction that would subsist till when the substantive
suit was determined
He adjourned the hearing of the case
till September 7, 2016, but gave a stern warning to INEC chairman not to
monitor the convention.
The judge also ordered the Inspector-General of Police to enforce his order.
Justice Abang, who faulted the decision
of the Port Harcourt Division of the Federal High Court to assume
jurisdiction on the case relating to the PDP convention, also directed
that his order be endorsed with Form 48 (notice of disobedience of court
order) and served on INEC chairman.
Justice Abang said failure by INEC or
any of the defendants to comply with his order would ‘‘attract
disciplinary action provided the plaintiffs know what to do.”
He said the Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker
committee members, who were on Tuesday joined as the third to the ninth
respondents, adopted a strategy of not filing a counter-affidavit,
adding that other processes were not found in the court file.
“They must sink and float with their legal strategy,” the judge said.
Justice Abang said the request for an
adjournment by their counsel, Mr. Yunus Ustaz (SAN) and Chief Ferdinand
Orbih (SAN), after the plaintiffs’ counsel, Chief Adeniyi Akintola
(SAN), had moved a motion for an interlocutory injunction, was an
afterthought.
Justice Abang ruled, “ The facts deposed
to by the plaintiffs are credible and deserving to be granted the
application in the overall interest of justice. I so hold…
“I make the following orders:
“An order of interlocutory injunction is
hereby made restraining the defendants (the nine of them), their
servants, agents, howsoever named from conducting the national
convention of the PDP and from supervising or monitoring same under any
guise and for electing any national officer of the (second) defendant
(PDP), and for recognising same in any manner whatsoever, pending the
determination of the substantive suit.
“An order of interlocutory injunction
is, hereby, made restraining the PDP from presenting anybody and from
sponsoring anybody for election into its offices and holding national
convention, conference, whatever name for the purpose of electing
national officers of the second defendant, pending the determination of
this suit…
“An order of interlocutory injunction
is, hereby, made restraining INEC from monitoring the national
convention of the PDP scheduled for Port Harcourt on Wednesday, August
17, 2016, or any other day and from accepting, publishing or
recognising, conference or convention howsoever named being planned by
the second defendant.
“The Inspector-General of Police shall enforce the order until all applications are disposed of.
“The plaintiffs shall endorse Form 48 and serve all the defendants, especially INEC, to accompany the order.
“Learned counsel for INEC shall inform
the chairman of INEC of the court’s decision and failure to comply with
the order of the court will attract disciplinary action against any
party in disobedience, provided the plaintiffs know what to do.
“Any party that fails to comply with the
subsisting order of this court shall have himself to blame. Nobody
should bring himself into direct confrontation with this court.”
The judge blamed the Port Harcourt division of the Federal High Court for the conflicting orders.
He said the attitude of his colleague had been condemned by the Supreme Court in 2004.
“This unenviable situation would have
been avoided if the judge in the Port Harcourt division of the court had
refused to assume jurisdiction over a case filed on August 9 after the
Abuja division was already handling a similar case filed in July.
He said, “Therefore, the Port Harcourt
division of the Federal High Court cannot make an order neutralising the
order made by this court.”
Our decision valid – P’Harcourt court
But the Federal High Court sitting in
Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Tuesday insisted that the July 4, 2016
ruling of Justice M. Liman that removed the former acting National
Chairman of the Peoples Democratic People, Ali Modu Sheriff, remained
valid.’’
Justice Watila said, “This court will
not shy away from protecting the sanctity of its judgment. The court has
held that the appointment of the PDP National Caretaker Committee is
valid.
Justice Watila stated that court records
showed that the proceedings and order of August 10, 2016, and the
interlocutory injunction of August 15, 2016, were served on the
defendants with proof of service.
Warning that disobedience to court
orders could cause anarchy, Justice Watila stated that the National
Caretaker Committee of the PDP remained the executive authority in all
matters concerning the party.
PDP convention’ll hold, Wike insisits
THE Chairman of the National Convention
Planning Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party and the Rivers State
Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, said despite the ruling of a Federal High
Court in Abuja, the party’s convention would hold.
Wike described the verdict of the court
in Abuja on Tuesday as an interlocutory injunction, adding that a
Federal High Court in Port Harcourt had earlier on the same day
delivered a judgment that the PDP convention should hold.
The governor explained that the
leadership of the PDP was in Port Harcourt, maintaining that nobody
could scuttle the democratic process in the party.
“The PDP is ready for its national
convention. Based on the court judgment of July 4, 2016, we are going
ahead with the convention.
“The judgment of the Federal High Court
in Port Harcourt today says the national convention should go ahead. We
are also aware that the judgment of the Federal High Court in Port
Harcourt also validates the judgment of July 4, 2016.
“Again, what the Abuja court only gave
was an injunction and the court in Port Harcourt gave a judgment that
the PDP convention should hold on August 17, 2016,” he said.
‘I’ll report corrupt judges to NJC, CJN’
Sheriff, the factional chairman of the
PDP, said he would send a petition to the Chief Justice of Nigeria,
Mahmoud Mohammed, and the National Judicial Council against some judges
of the Federal High Court in the country.
He alleged that some of the judges had demonstrated “unethical behaviour.”
He alleged that the unnamed judges ought to be removed from the system in order to restore sanity to Nigeria’s judiciary.
Sheriff spoke at an emergency press conference in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said he was shocked by the order
issued by a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt in which Justice Watila
Mohammed validated Wednesday’s (today) national convention in the state
on the grounds that the July 4, 2016 ruling, which upheld the decision
taken at the May 21, 2016 convention, was still subsisting.
Sheriff expressed frustration and disappointment at the ruling of the Rivers court.
He said, “We are shocked with that ruling. All the judges in Nigeria are on annual vacation.
“We have been in court with all of them
for the past one month on an issue that a judge went into in Port
Harcourt which started on Friday. People went and filed court cases on
Thursday and got an ex parte motion, which has been frowned at by the judiciary for now.
“Most stakeholders in the judiciary don’t want ex parte motion because it denies others justice.
“But let’s accept that the judge decided to do that. The life span of the ex parte motion is 14 days, which means you have time to serve the other people to respond.
“On Thursday, the judge gave an ex parte motion. The next day he converted that ex parte
motion to an interlocutory order. On Monday, he sat and heard the main
case to give a ruling or judgment today at 2pm without allowing us as
defendants to defend ourselves.”
“This morning, when our lawyers went to court, the judge authorised all the registry staff to run away.
“Our lawyer, a Senior Advocate of
Nigeria, immediately called everybody in Nigeria that the judiciary
should not be destroyed. From 9am till now (4pm), they are receiving our
own response to the application.
“The truth about it is that the whole thing is a hoax.”
While calling on the CJN to sanitise the
judiciary, Sheriff said, “We are calling on the Chief Justice of
Nigeria to look into the Port Harcourt division of the judiciary;
otherwise, they will bring anarchy into this country.”
He said he would ‘‘put a formal
complaint to the Judicial Service Commission. We are saying this because
it is wrong; justice is for everybody.”
We’ll protect everybody – police
The Rivers State Police Command said on Tuesday that it would provide security for everybody in the state.
The state Police Public Relations
Officer, Mr. Nnamdi Omoni, told one of our correspondents on the
telephone that it was the duty of the police to provide security for
Nigerians.
He said, “Whether there is a convention
or not, it is our duty to provide security and we are assuring those
coming into Rivers of their protection.”
Though Omoni did not say whether there
was any special arrangement for the PDP national convention holding at
the Sharks Stadium in Port Harcourt, he maintained that lives and
property must be protected.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere in Port
Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, at 5pm on Tuesday indicated that all
was set for the PDP national convention on Wednesday (today).
Our correspondent observed that all the hotels in the state capital had been fully booked.
At the Sharks Stadium, podiums had been mounted, while tents had also been put in place.
On major roads in Port Harcourt, there were traffic jams as delegates arrived in the state ahead of the PDP national convention.
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