Court turns down Ogun PDP faction’s request for ex-parte injunction

Written by Akeem Nafiu Monday, 06 August 2012

JUSTICE Mohammed Idris of a Federal High Court in Lagos has turned down a request by a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State for an ex-parte injunction against some national officers of the party.

The Adebayo Dayo-led faction of the PDP in Ogun State had filed a motion on notice to commit the PDP and its national officers to prison for contempt. The applicants included one Semio Sodipo.

They had also filed an ex-parte motion seeking certain injunctions against the PDP officers as well as the Inspector General of Police and the Director-General of the Department of State Security (DSS).

According to the suit marked FHC/L/CS/347/2012, the applicants claimed to have filed the suit on behalf of themselves and the executive committee of the PDP in Ogun State.

Counsel for the applicants, Ajibola Oluyede, had urged the judge unsuccessfully to grant the ex-parte motion.

The judge, while rejecting the plea, said: “I have studied the whole file. There is absolutely no need for me to grant any injunction at this stage. Let the alleged contemnors be put on notice. I am prepared to hear the case and decide it once and for all.”

Oluyede had cited series of authorities to back his position on the need for the judge to grant temporary injunction pending the hearing of the main case but Justice Idris insisted that there was no need granting an injunction, which might never be obeyed, adding that such would only render the order of the court useless.

Also, attempts by Oluyede to convince the judge to grant an order directing the police and the DSS to provide special security for his clients were rejected by the judge on the ground that such application ought to be directed to the office of the security agencies concerned and not the court.

Justice Idris, however, granted a request by Oluyede seeking for substituted service of the processes on the alleged contemnors as well as service of the processes out of jurisdiction.
Hearing of the application was fixed for August 8, 2012.

via Tribune