From Victor Osula, Abuja
A High Court sitting in Abuja, the Federal Capital territory has extended the order restraining Mr Camilus Ukah and his exco from parading themselves as officers of the Association of Nigerian Authors, ANA.
This was sequel to the absence of the defendants when the case was called.
Ikeazo Igbokwe and I. A. Ogezi , who appeared for the claimants informed the court that the motion on notice was not ripe for hearing, because the 2nd -19th defendants were only served with the processes five days earlier, by substituted means as they had evaded service.
The rules of the court provided for seven days after service before a motion on notice could be ripe for hearing.
The defendants were served through the bailiff their Memorandum of Conditional Appearance on I. A. Ogezi, signed by their counsel, D. K. Iorhemba Esq. and J. B. Ifer Esq.
Ogezi however, in seeking a short adjournment for the mandatory seven days to be met before hearing of the pending motion on notice, raised the issue of whether the defendants had a right of hearing or audience after they had violated the injunction of the court by going ahead with the convention that the court had stopped.
This information was met with the anger of the honourable court a great deal, even though the defendants attempted to feign ignorance to the court that they didn’t have notice of the said order, only to be reminded that they had filed a letter in court on November 1, 2021, for Certified True Copies of the entire processes in the matter. How could they claim ignorance of what they had applied for a CTC of?
Consequently, Justice O Musa, without hearing the pending motion on notice, because it was a day short of being ripe for hearing, further ordered that the interim order restraining Mr C. Ukah and his team members, together with the ANA Abuja EXCO members from parading themselves as various officers of ANA be extended.
The extended order now is to last till the next adjourned date, which is February 10, 2022, a date for hearing of the pending Motion on Notice.
Speaking on the suit, Mr Akogun Oguntayo, National General Secretary of ANA, said; “The purpose of returning to the court was to get the court to extend its injunction restraining Mr C. Ukah and his team members, together with the illegally assembled ANA Abuja EXCO members, from parading themselves as various officers of ANA, until the final determination of the case challenging the constitutionality of their elections.”
It would be recalled that Mr Ukah, whose exco and himself were restrained by the court on October 27, 2021, went ahead to organise a conference where he was re-elected President of the organisation in flagrant disobedience to the court order restraining him and his exco from parading themselves as legal officers of ANA until the substantive case has been heard and discharged.
