Law News
PDP Lagos primaries: Obanikoro challenges citizenship suit

Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, who lost in the just concluded governorship primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday, challenged the suit asking a Lagos High Court in Ikeja to stop him from contesting in any election in the future, including the recent primary.

Obanikoro

Obanikoro filed a preliminary objection to the suit filed by some members of his party, PDP, against his aspiration before the court presided by Justice Kazeem Alogba.

Applicants in the suit include Micheal Babatunde Ogun, Suleiman Olayinka Saheed and Wasiu Adeniyi Odusan.

Joined as defendants alongside Senator Obanikoro are Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the PDP.

In his application, Obanikoro through his counsel, Gbenga Ojo, asked the court for an order striking out or dismissing the originating summons which he described as an abuse of court process.

He also asked for an order of the court striking out or dismissing the originating summons, saying it does not disclose reasonable cause of action and for any other the court may deem fit to make in the circumstances.

Obanikoro based his objection on four grounds and prayed the court to determine the matter based on the grounds of his preliminary objection to the suit.

Ojo told the court that all the documents relied upon by the applicants are “either uncertified public document or documents printed from internet without authentication of the source or certification.”

The application objecting to the suit also described “the entire case as speculative and abuse of the process of the court”.

At the resumed hearing of the matter, counsel to the applicants, Wahab Shittu said they were prepared to move the originating summon since the matter was already slated for hearing.

But Ojo told the court that there was no need to proceed into the matter since his client has lost the governorship primary election of the PDP in Lagos.

At this stage, Justice Alogba referred Obanikoro’s counsel to the relief sought by the applicants in their originating summons.

The trial judge, Justice Alogba after taking the submission of all counsels, adjourned the matter to January 14, 2015 for hearing of the originating summon.

Justice Alogba ordered all parties to file all applications before the adjourned date warning “I would not tolerate any further request for adjournment in view of the nature of the case”.

 

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