Sokoto guber: Court adjourns Tambuwal, Dahiru’s case

ABUJA – The  Federal High Court, Abuja Thursday  adjourned till April 13, a suit challenging the choice  of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal  as the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress ,APC. 

The case which was filed by chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Human Rights, Senator Umaru Dahiru, seeks to stop Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal’s candidature under the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Dahiru alleged that the process was flawed and wanted the court to bar the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from listing Tambuwal as governorship candidate on the platform of APC.

Justice Evoh Chukwu however adjourned the case to 13 April, 2015 to enable the defendants respond to process served on the plaintiff yesterday morning in court.

Counsel to Tambuwal , Sunday Ameh ,SAN, on why the case was adjourned said his team would require time to go through the processes served on the defendant by the plaintiff yesterday morning in court.

Saying that the plaintiff has employed time wasting strategy, Ameh disclosed that his team is challenging the competence if the court in handling the case.

“There were pending applications to be taken this morning but counsels to the plaintiff served us with some processes this morning that will require our action but we had to apply to the court to give us he opportunity to react to those processes.

“The court granted our application and fixed 13 April, 2015 for the hearing of those applications,” he said.

Ameh said the competence of the Federal High Court Abuja to handle the case is being challenged, saying, “The process the plaintiff used in beginning this action of originating summon is not suitable for the kind of claim they have out forward in this court.

“They have allegations of intimidation, treating of delegates malpractices and so on but we said this is not one of those actions or claims that can begin with originating summons.

“Secondly, that this primary election took place in Sokoto State, why we  are filling the case in Abuja and series of other actions that we have filled challenging the competence of this court.

“The case has not gone into the substantive matter, all we have done so far is the preliminaries. We served the motion on notice on the plaintiff on 31st, the plaintiff did not take any step.

“Being a pre-election matter and with claims that time is of the essence, they did not take any step to react to the application until this morning.

“They served us in court this morning and we do not have the opportunity of going through the processes, and it is impossible to react to something we have read.

“That was what informed our application to the  court for an adjournment with proof and that we are entitled to reply to he processes served on us his morning”.

The plaintiff lawyer, Ikoro Ikoro said the candidature of Tambuwal was being challenged because the gubernatorial primaries was not in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral laws  and we want to leave that to the court to decide.

He however raised no objection about the adjournment saying he had to serve the process on the plaintiff in court yesterday morning.

Culled from Vanguard