Again, Court adjourns suit seeking to disqualify Kaduna APC guber candidate to Friday
By Idibia Gabriel, Kaduna
Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna has again adjourned the pre-election case filed before it between the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), INEC and the All Progressive Congress (APC).
NNPP had earlier filed a law suit against INEC in the federal high court 2, in Kaduna, challenging the eligibility of the APC governorship candidate and the 34 members of the state assembly candidates.
In the suit, NNPP led governorship candidate Senator Suleiman Othman Hunkuyi alleged that inclusion of the names of candidates of APC in Kaduna in the list of supposedly cleared candidates of various political parties by INEC for 2023 election violates the law.
NNPP pleaded that the process of nomination for the elections of APC candidates for 2023 elections in Kaduna State was faulty and does not meet the requirements as provided by the laws.
But when the case came up for hearing on Thursday, the court judge, Justice Hadiza R. Shagari, adjourned the matter to 16th of September 2022 for hearing following application for extension of time filled by NNPP counsel.
In an interview, counsel to the Plaintiff, Barr. Bello Ibrahim who represented the lead counsel, Barr. Wole Ogunbiade, SAN, said they were served the processes of the respondent lately, and have responded, and accordingly filed their papers but were not transmitted into the judge’s file by the registry in good time.
“I had my own copy and I stood up to move my own when I discovered that the registry staff have not been able to put the copy of the process we file in the judge’s file,” he said, adding that the court cannot wait for it to be done same day, and therefore had to adjourned to the next day.
Also in an interview, counsel to APC, Sule Shiaibu said the matter was adjourned for Thursday for purpose of house keeping, hearing of various applications for extension of time and filing of various process and to hear the substantives suit.
“Incidentally, at this morning, counsel to the plaintiff, NNPP filed another fresh application for extension of time to regularise again. That application was not served on us, it was not before the court and matter was stood down.
“The court has copies but the counsel has no copy. So the court in its wisdom adjourned the matter to tomorrow 16th sept 2022 in the interest of justice.
“And for the purpose of taking that motion and all papers, having comes in then, the matter will be heard tomorrow,” he said.
According to him, INEC is been sued while APC is joined. “We’re joined with the view of disqualifying candidates of APC.”
Counsel to INEC who came in from Abuja declined comments when contacted, but promised that everything would be sorted out before tomorrow on their part to ensure smooth hearing to meet up the deadline for preelection matters in court.
