New PDP suit against Tukur suffers set back

The  suit initiated by the Alhaji Kawu Baraje’s faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seeking to stop Bamanga Tukur alongside three others from parading themselves as executive members of the PDP failed to proceed as scheduled yesterday because the case file had been returned to the office of the Chief Judge of Lagos State Justice Ayodele Philip by Justice Ganiyu Safari.

Safari was handling the matter as a vacation judge.  It was later gathered that the state Chief Judge has assigned the suit to Justice Oludotun Adefowope-Okojie.

The newly assigned judge is expected to state a new date for  continuation of the matter.
Apart from Baraje, other claimants in the suit are Dr Sam Jaja and Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.
And joined as defendants alongside Tukur are; Mr Uche Secondus, deputy national chairman, Dr Kema Chikwe, women leader and Mr Olisa Metuh, national publicity secretary.

At the last hearing, the Baraje faction otherwise known as “New PDP” failed to get the court’s nod to ask police to re-open the Abuja national secretariat of the faction that was sealed up.
Robert Emukpaero, counsel to Baraje’s faction of the PDP, had made an oral application wherein he prayed the court to order the reopening of the new PDP secretariat in Abuja closed down by the police.

 Emukpaeruo had also accused the defendants of allegedly violating the court’s previous order to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the suit. He then urged the court to order the police to remove their armoured personnel carrier vehicles from the secretariat and allow his clients access to their offices.

But the defence counsel, Ajibola Oluyede in his response urged the court to dismiss the claimant’s claim as a “mere say” and that  which cannot be relied upon by the court.
Oluyede argued that the claimant did not file any affidavit and documentary evidence to support his claims that his clients are behind the sealing of their secretariat.

In his ruling, Justice Safari turned down the application, saying the claimants have not provided enough evidence to link the defendants with the police order to close the secretariat.

The judge said though the defendants are high ranking members of the PDP, they had no powers to order the police to seal off the secretariat or deploy security agents to the area.
He, however, reiterated his previous order that both parties should maintain status quo pending the determination of the matter.

Dailytrust

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