On Friday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu was threatened by the National Rescue Movement (NRM) with a bench warrant of arrest.
After Yakubu was not present in court, NRM attorney Oladimeji Ekengba threatened the Federal High Court in Abuja’s Justice Obiora Egwuatu.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on June 17, Justice Egwuatu approved NRM’s request to use a substitute method to serve the INEC chairman with the contempt charge.
Ekengba filed a motion ex-parte to that effect, and the judge granted the request.
In his verdict, Justice Egwuatu instructed that Yakubu be served with Form 48, which is a notice of the consequences of disobeying a court order, by giving it to any commission employee at the commission’s national headquarters.
After that, he postponed the hearing.
Ekengba had claimed that INEC and its chairman had disregarded a March 5 court order directing them to accept the results of an emergency convention that resulted in the party’s executives, led by Chief Edozie Njoku.
Ekengba said the essence of the emergency convention, which was held on January 17, was to fill vacancies and correct lopsidedness in the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party.
When the matter was called on Friday, Ekengba said the case was slated for mention in a contempt proceeding against the INEC chairman, Yakubu.
“I am shocked that he is absent in a contempt proceeding that is a criminal matter,” the lawyer said.
Yakubu’s lawyer, Alhassan Umar, SAN, however informed the court that they had filed a preliminary objection to challenge the matter.
He said the application was filed on July 17, hence, the contempt charge was not ripe for hearing.
“In our view, our application takes precedence over contempt proceedings. It has to be taken and determined first before the contempt
“I am surprised that my learner friend did not disclose that he has been served that application and subject to court convenience of the court, we are ready to proceed,” he said.
Resounding, Ekengba acknowledged being served with the objection on Thursday.
He argued that Umar’s submission that the preliminary objection ought to be heard first did not apply in law.
Citing a previous Supreme Court decision in Ebhodaghe Vs Okoye, 2004, Page 495, the lawyer argued that a preliminary objection cannot take precedence when a contempt had been filed.
According to him, the Supreme Court says that when the application is an issue of contempt, it takes precedence over every other matter, because a defendant cannot be in contempt and still come to the same court for reliefs.
“The fact is that the contempnor is not here and no reason was given. Otherwise, I will be applying for a bench warrant of arrest for him to be here,” Ekengba said.
“Can you respond to that?” the judge asked the INEC chairman’s lawyer.
Umar said Ekengba himself admitted that the matter was fixed for mention and that the issue of jurisdiction, which is fundamental, had been raised in their application.
“Counsel, The preliminary objection has been read by me. I already know the facts of the case, so I don’t need to read it again.
“I read the law, at least. The judge stated that such behavior creates a parody of the legal system and that “this profession is for all of us and no matter how highly placed a person is, he should obey the law.”
Justice Egwuatu stated that as INEC is a neutral party, political parties ought to be permitted to resolve their own issues.
After that, the judge postponed the hearing until October 8.
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