Another political party, the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria, on Thursday sought to withdraw as a plaintiff from a suit it filed along with three other parties to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission from using the electronic card readers in the forthcoming general elections.
The court presided over by Justice Adeniyi Ademola had earlier on March 12, 2015 struck out the name of Action Alliance from the suit following its application to withdraw from the suit because it did not authorise its being joined as a plaintiff in the suit.
The suit was then left with the United Democratic Party, Allied Congress Party of Nigeria and Alliance for Democracy, as the remaining plaintiffs.
But the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria, through a lawyer, Yahaya Abubakar, also on Thursday sought that its name be struck out in the suit as a plaintiff.
Justice Ademola however declined to grant the prayer on the grounds that Abubakar did not comply with the requirement of the court’s rules in appearing in the suit as a new counsel.
The judge in discontinuing Abubakar’s appearance for the ACPN, upheld the objection of the counsel for the plaintiffs, Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN).
Abubakar, had in asking for ACPN’s name to be struck out as a plaintiff, said he was briefed by the party’s authentic National Chairman, Olu Okunrinboye.
He had said the status of Ganiyu Galadima, who was in court as the party’s National Chairman and presidential candidate, was currently being challenged in a separate suit, FHC/ABJ/CS/249/2015.
He said the party’s actual presidential candidate is Mrs Bose Ojelaro.
“We were brought to this court against our will. We do not know how we got here in the first place. This is a fundamental case of misjoinder,” Abubakar said.
The counsel for the All Progressives Congress, including Akin Olujnmi (SAN) and kola Awodein (SAN), and another defence lawyer, Sam Kargbo had urged Justice Ademola to investigate the issue behind the contradictory positions of the two lawyers representing ACPN.
Iziyon later urged the court to hear all the pending applications – defendants’ applications for stay of proceedings pending appeal and the preliminary objections – along with the substantive suit in view of the urgency involved in the case.
Olujinmi and other defence lawyers had on the contrary sought time to file their necessary responses to applications served on them by the plaintiffs.
Justice Ademola adjourned till 12 noon on Friday for hearing of pending preliminary applications.
Meanwhile, Justice Gabriel Kolawole (also of the Federal High Court, Abuja) has fixed March 23 (by 12 noon) for ruling in an application by the APC to be joined in another suit, challenging the legitimacy of INEC’s decision to use card readers for the elections.
