A Grade 1 Area Court sitting in Abuja on Tuesday restrained Chief Ralph Okey Nwosu and others identified as members of his factional leadership of the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) from acting, functioning, or parading themselves as members of the Central Management Committee of the Council.

The Court also restrained them from conducting any election into the office of the National Chairman or President of IPAC or any other offices.

Ruling in an Exparte Motion filed by Dr. Leonard Nzenwa, the National Chairman of AAC Party and the Court recognized President of IPAC, the Court also restrained the Okey Nwosu led Factional group from giving effect to the purported inauguration of a Central Management Committee by Mr.Peter Ameh, the former chairman of IPAC.

The Court further restrained Mr.Peter Ameh who was listed in the Suit as the 1st Defendant from exercising any power, function or duty of the National Chairman or President of the IPAC or doing any other act whatsoever relating or pertaining to the office of the National Chairman or President of IPAC.

In the Monday ruling delivered by Hon. M. A. Sadiq, the presiding judge, also granted an order for substituted service of all the process either by delivering same at their last known addresses or through their Whatsapp Numbers.

It would be recalled that IPAC was embroiled in crisis following the deregistration of 74 political parties by INEC in February. The remaining 18 political parties elected Dr. Leonard Nzenwa to lead them pending the conduct of full elections.

A competent High Court in Abuja also affirmed Leonard as the Chairman of IPAC and gave him full powers to lead the organisation including any future transition.

However, Mr. Peter Ameh whose party, Progressive Peoples Alliance was one of the deregistered Parties refused to recognize the election and went ahead to inaugurate the Okey Nwosu Central Management Committee from which the Court has now restrained them from parading or acting as members.

Earlier, an FCT High Court had in another Suit recognized and validated the position of Dr. Leonard Nzenwa as the duly elected leader of the IPAC.

Counsel to Nzenwa, Mr. Chibuzor Ezike told reporters that if Peter Ameh continues to disobey the orders of Court, they would move the court to commence criminal trial against him.

He said a deregistered party that won an Appeal which is currently been challenged by INEC at the Supreme Court and have not been listed as a registered party does not have the legal right to call itself a political party, carry out the functions of a registered party or participate in choosing leadership for IPAC until the Supreme court decides the pending Appeal and an enforcement is carried out either by INEC or the Court.

(VANGUARD)

The Abuja Vacation Judge, His Lordship, Hon. Justice Ibrahim Galadima has dismissed the application filed by Abia State Primary Health Care Development Agency against the garnishee order made in favour of Promise Iheasimuo and Eight others for lacking merit.

The Court held that Abia State Primary Health Care Development Agency lacks the locus required to file the said application to set aside the valid order of the court against Aba South Local Government Council, awarded the cost of N100,000 in favour of the Judgment creditor Promise Iheasimuo and Eight others, and adjourned the matter to 20th October 2020 for further hearing.

From facts, the applicant had submitted that the garnishee account number belongs to the Aba South Local Government Health Authority and not the judgment debtor Aba South Local Government that being a separate entity from the judgment debtor, it shall be wrong to attach its bank account in these proceedings.

The applicant filed the motion on notice to set aside the garnishee order nisi of 6/7/2020 against the said account that the account attached is the salary account belonging to the applicant and that if this order nisi is not set aside as a matter of urgency, the applicant’s employees who are health workers shall down tools and this will therefore result in hardships and so it is expedient for this court to consider and grant the application as a matter of grave urgency.

In response, the judgment creditors Promise Iheasimuo and others stated that the applicant was a stranger as it was the garnishee that was expected to file an affidavit of cause and not the applicant urged that the application be dismissed in the interest of justice.

Delivering the ruling, the presiding Judge, Hon. Justice Ibrahim Galadima held that applicant failed to even attach a certified system-generated statement of account in respect of the account in contention which may have been used in determining the probability of the claim made by it and likely to have convinced this court of their genuineness.

“If this interested party seeks to be joined in these proceedings, it may do so by seeking this court’s leave to be so joined first and not for it to simply file an application as was done for the court to set aside its order nisi.”

A Benin High Court on Monday admitted seven men who allegedly invaded the Edo House of Assembly complex on Aug. 6, to bail in the sum of N500,000 each.

The police charged Wilfred Ogbewe, 52, Igbinobono Collins, 26, Salami Osayomore, 25, Odion Osayande, 23, Morgan Uwanboe, 47, Ifeoluwa Oladele, 36, and Agbonrere Festus, 25 with the alleged invasion of the state house of assembly premises in Benin, in a manner that caused a breach of peace.

Justice Efe Ikponmwoba also ordered them to produce one surety each in like sum, who must be gainfully employed and reside within the court’s jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, the court adjourned until Sept. 8, judgment in the application for enforcement of fundamental human rights.

Counsel to the applicants, Matthias Obayuwana, submitted that the motion was aimed at enforcing the fundamental rights to liberty and personal dignity, freedom from the cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of the applicants by the police authorities.

He submitted that the applicants were arrested while performing their lawful duties as Members of the state Vigilante group who were at the Assembly complex at the instance of State Government to protect the place from being vandalized by hoodlums on that fateful day.

Obayuwana also told the court that the applicants were arrested by a team of policemen led by SP Dahiru Ibrahim and taken to Force Headquarters Abuja where they were tortured and detained under unfavourable condition without food.

He emphasized that the rights to personal dignity are not such that can be negotiated, waived, neglected, or overlooked.

Citing sections of the law to drive home his points, the applicants’ counsel told the court that the respondents did not present any warrant of arrest, petition, or complaint by anyone against the applicants on the basis of which they acted in the early hours of that day, an exercise that was ill-motivated and which smacks of partisanship in the electoral politics of Edo.

Objecting to the application, counsel to the police, Akomen Adaghe, urged the court to rule against the applicants because they were arrested with guns, an offense punishable by law.

A 26-year old man, David Ebenezer, has been arraigned before an Ondo Magistrate Court for stealing the sum of N1.4m.

Ebenezer was accused of converting the money, belonging to a Cooperative and Micro Finance bank, for his personal use.

He was said to have committed the crime on August 30, 2019, at Rainbow Street, Ondo Town.

Ebenezer was arraigned on two count charges bothering on felony and stealing.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Police prosecutor, Akao Moremi, said the offenses are punishable under sections 516 and 390 of the Criminal Code Cap 37, Volume 1 Laws of Ondo State of Nigeria, 2006.

He informed the court that he would call six witnesses to testify during the trial.

Presiding Magistrate, Damilola Sekoni, granted the accused bail to the sum of N750, 000 and two sureties who own landed properties.

He adjourned the case to September 17, 2020, to definite trial.

A Federal High Court, Lagos has refused to hear an application to lift a mareva injunction barring South African retail company, Shoprite Checkers (PTY) Limited, from transferring its assets.

Vacation judge, Nicholas Oweibo, said the matter was not urgent enough to be heard during the court’s ongoing vacation.

Shoprite is seeking to overturn a July 14, 2020 mareva injunction made by Justice Mohammed Liman of the same court in favour of a Nigerian firm, A.I.C. Limited.

A.I.C. Limited, which in 2018 secured a $10m judgment against Shoprite in a breach of contract lawsuit, obtained the injunction against the backdrop of Shoprite’s announcement to pull out of Nigeria.

The $10m judgment was entered in favour of A.I.C. Limited in 2018 against Shoprite by Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja.

Displeased with the judgment, Shoprite had gone on appeal but it equally lost at the Court of Appeal and has now gone to the Supreme Court.

While the matter is pending at the apex court, the firm announced it was going to pull out of the country.