A Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday refused to grant an application filed by a Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Olukoya Ogungbeje, seeking an order restraining President Muhammadu Buhari, the Department of State Service and others from re-arresting or taking any “untoward action” against five of the eight judges’ whose houses were recently raided by DSS’ operatives.
Delivering a bench ruling after Ogungbeje’s counsel, Mr. Ayo Ogundele, moved the ex parte application on Friday, Justice Gabriel Kolawole held that he needed to resolve a number of issues including the locus standi of the plaintiff in an inter-party hearing before he could make a pronouncement on the prayer.
The plaintiff had sought, “An order of interim injunction restraining the respondents, their agents, servants, privies, men, officers or anybody deriving authority from them by whatever name called from further arresting, intimidating, arresting, inviting, seizing or taking any untoward action against the arrested and affected honourable judges and judicial officers pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.”
The plaintiff had filed the ex parte application following his apprehension that the judges arrested in various parts of the country between October 7 and 8 could be charged and arraigned in court any time soon.
But rather than grant the prayer sought by Ogungbeje, the judge directed that the motion on notice seeking similar prayer be served on the respondents.
He ordered that five of the six respondents, comprising President Buhari, Director-General of the DSS, Mr. Lawal Daura; the DSS; the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami; and the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. to appear in court on November 15 to show cause why the interim restraining order against further arrest of the judges should not be granted.
The sixth respondent to the suit is the National Judicial Council.
The judge ordered that the plaintiff’s motion and on notice be served on the respondents and they shall be entitled to respond within seven days of being served.
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Tags : Breaking news, Corruption
