A Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday, set aside the interim order restraining the Kwara government from conducting local government elections scheduled for Sept. 21.
Justice Peter Lifu, in a ruling, vacated the order on the grounds that it has expired by the provisions of the law, having lasted for more than 14 days.
Justice Lifu agreed with the submissions of Johnson Usman, SAN, counsel to the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWSIEC), and the Kwara Attorney General (AG), Senior Sulyman, SAN.
“It is on record that the same ex-parte order has been pending since July 29, 2024,” he said.
According to the judge, ex-parte order should not last beyond 14 days. Since it has lasted more than 6 weeks, it is hereby set aside,” he declared.
Justice Lifu, in another ruling also dismissed the contempt charge filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to commit the Chairman of KWSIEC, Alhaji Baba Okanla, to prison on allegations of violations of valid court order.
The judge dismissed the application on the ground that the contempt of court charge initiated against the Kwara electoral body chair was not served on the contemnor as required by law.
Justice Lifu, who upheld the arguments of Usman and Sulyman, said that since contempt charge is a criminal charge, it ought to have been served personally on the KWSIEC chairman and not through any other party or person.
He said that the failure of the PDP’s lawyer, Ademola Abimbola, to serve the contempt charge on Okanla was a fundamental breach of Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution which denied the contemnor a fair hearing.
He said that from the record of the court, there was no evidence of personal service on Baba while at the same time, there was no evidence of substituted service order obtained from the court to serve the contemnor through substituted means.
“I have carefully and painstakingly perused the arguments for and against the motion to commit the contemnor to prison. Proceeding of contempt affects citizen’s liberty and where liberty of person is at stake, due process of the law must be carefully followed.
“In the instant case, the fundamental right of the contemnor to fair hearing as enshrined in Section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was breached by not serving him personally and this makes the motion for committal to prison to be liable to dismissal and is hereby dismissed,” Justice Lifu held.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the judge had, on July 29, granted the PDP’s ex-parte motion to stop INEC from releasing the national voters’ register to KWSIEC for the Sept. 21 local government election in the state, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
The PDP, the plaintiff, had, in the suit number: FHC/ABJ/CS/1061/2024, sued INEC, KWASIEC, Kwara AG, Inspector-General (I-G) of Police and State Security Service (SSS) as 1st to 5th defendants respectively.
PDP, had through its team of lawyers led by Kehinde Ogunwumiju, SAN, told the court that KWASIEC was in grievous contravention, breach and violation of Sections 9, 28, 29 and 106 of the Electoral Act 2022, Sections 20 (1) and 21 (1) of Kwara State Local Government Electoral (Amendment) Law, 2024.
PDP claimed that all the conditions and precedents contained in Local Government Electoral Laws in Kwara were deliberately jettisoned by the state’s electoral body under unacceptable circumstances.
It alleged that KWSIEC had applied to INEC for the register of voters in Kwara to use the same in the conduct of the LG polls. The party said the action was in breach and violation of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the Electoral Act, 2022, as well as Kwara State Local Government Electoral (Amendment) Law, 2024.
However, Abimbola alleged that KWSIEC, through a letter dated Aug. 28 and addressed to the state’s PDP chairman, invited the party to a peace meeting despite an injunction restraining parties from taking any step pending the hearing and determination of the suit.
Against the development, the PDP lawyer commenced the contempt proceeding against the state’s electoral commission chairman.(NAN)
