Court turns down request to extend order stopping Adamawa REC suspended prosecution

The case was postponed for hearing till Monday, July 24 by the trial judge, Justice Donatus Okorowo.

On Tuesday, the Federal High Court in Abuja declined to extend the interim order it had issued on July 10, 2023, prohibiting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Inspector General of Police (IGP), and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) from bringing charges against Hudu Yunusa Ari, the suspended Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), until the hearing and decision on a motion brought by Senator Aishatu Dahiru, also known as Binani.

Because Senator Binani, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for governor, was declared the victor of the Adamawa State governorship election on April 15, 2023, while the vote-counting process was still in progress, INEC is requesting that the suspended REC be prosecuted.

The defendants in Binani’s application, INEC, the IGP, and the AGF, were instructed to maintain the status quo until the outcome of the substantive lawsuit by the court.

The court further requested that the defendants come before it on July 18 to demonstrate their innocence and avoid being permanently barred from pursuing legal action against the suspended Adamawa State REC.

The applicant had not served the defendants with the court’s order from July 10 according to INEC’s attorney, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), who spoke before the court on Tuesday.

The duration of the interim injunction ended on July 18, according to Jacobs, who also disputed the court’s capability and jurisdiction to hear the case in a counter affidavit to the request.

Michael Aondoaka, lawyer for Binani, however, contended that the interim order had not ended because the defendants had not shown justification as required by the court.

Aondoaka stressed that since he had taken part in the case, INEC’s attorney could not assert that he had not received notice of the court’s proceedings.

A hearing on the original summons that was served on the defendants in court on Tuesday was postponed until Monday, July 24 by the trial judge, Justice Donatus Okorowo.

The trial of the suspended Adamawa State REC was put on hold by an interim order that the court declined to prolong.