Court restrains INEC, APC, others from conducting congresses in Imo

A Federal High Court In Abuja on Monday ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the All Progressives Congress (APC), and its national chairman not to conduct any congress in Imo until August 21.

The order came following an application by Senator Osita Izunaso, Senator Ben Uwajimogu, Mathew Omegara, Hilary Ekeh and Patrick Uzoukwu.

The vacation judge, Jutice Babatunde Quadri, who gave the order also ordered the plaintiffs to maintain status quo until August 21.

Counsel to the plaintiffs Ahmed Raji (SAN), had prayed the court to order that all parties be restrained from conducting any primaries in the state, ward or local government until the next adjourned date of the suit.

According to Raji, should there be no such order by the court and the defendants went ahead to conduct the primaries before the next adjourned date, the suit would become an academic exercise.

He also told the court that despite the fact that the defendants were duly served with an order of court stopping them from conducting congresses on July 20, that they still went ahead to conduct the congresses.

He said that it was sequel to this that the plaintiffs on July 23, filed a motion ex parte praying the court to set aside the purported congresses.

Raji added that they had further urged the court for an order of injunction restraining APC and its chairman from recognising and swearing in those purportedly elected at the congresses.

“The court, however in its wisdom refused to grant this order and ordered us to put them on notice, and we did and duly served all processes on them but there has been no response from them,’’ he added.

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In his response, counsel to the defendants, Oladipo Okpeseyi (SAN), told the court that he had just been briefed about the matter and prayed the court for an adjournment to enable him file the necessary processes.

In a short ruling, Justice Quadri ordered all parties in the suit to maintain status quo and not conduct any primaries until the next adjourned date.

“All parties are restrained from conducting any primaries in the state, ward or local government until August 21,’’ Quadri ruled and awarded a fine of N10,000 against the defendants for failure to file their processes within the stipulated time and adjourned the matter until August 21to allow the defendants regularise their processes.

 

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