Emmanuel Adeyemi, Lokoja
A High Court sitting in Lokoja on Tuesday adjoined a case seeking to disqualify the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Musa Wada, from contesting the Nov 16 governorship election on Nov 27 for defence.
Abubakar Idris, the son of former governor of the state had dragged Wada who is his brother-in-law to court on the grounds that he was not properly elected at the party’s primary as the standard-bearer of the party and therefore urged the court to disqualify him and declare him (Abubakar) as the winner of the party’s primary.
The court had adjoined the case last Friday till Tuesday after all the witnesses of the claimant testified and were cross-examined by the counsels.
When the case, however, came up for defence, counsel to the first defendant (PDP) Kola Olowookere, told the court that the former counsel handling the case was indisposed and had, therefore, handed over the case to him and that he needed time to obtain a record of proceedings from the registry of the court in order to study it.
He also said the case file was handed over to him in less than 24 hours and that he needed time to study the file whether to continue with the case at the staged it reached or to modify it by calling more witnesses.
Olowookere, therefore, requested the court to adjoin the case, requesting for five working weeks so that he would study the case properly and continue ( if necessary) at the stage it had reached.
He stressed that for justice and fair hearing to be dispensed to all parties enough time must be given for the trial judge to “hear all the hearable and see all the seeable.”
But counsel to Abubakar Idris, Mr Rowland Otaru ( SAN) stoutly objected to the plea for adjournment saying the counsel to the first defendant (PDP) did not need any extra time to study a case which had reached a defence level, saying the court must be mindful that the issue at contention which was the governorship election is just 11 days away and of public interest.
He said the defendant was only using a delaying tactic to prolong the case and reminded the trial judge that he promised to give the case an expeditious hearing and therefore urged the court to overrule the plea.
Counsel to the second defendant (Wada) Prof Joas Amupitan (SAN) while supporting the plea for adjournment told the trial court not to allow anybody to stampede the court in arriving at a decision that will not be fair to all the parties, saying the principle of justice and fair hearing is a tripod issue that affects not only the claimant but both the defendant and even the court .
He said since the case was a pre-election matter, the court is constitutionally allowed to adjudicate in the matter within 180 days and that the court still has many days on its side and should therefore not allowed it to be rushed in a way that justice will be miscarried.
After hearing all the parties, the trial judge, Richard Olorunfemi, in his ruling said nobody can pressurise or stampede him to do anything outside the law, saying he had read in social media how some insinuations were made against him, but he remained undaunted because he had made a covenant with God not take bribe from anyone.
According to him “none of you can buy me over, whether it is APC or PDP or anybody. I have made a covenant with my God precisely on May 18, 1999, that if I upturn justice for any monetary gain or favour that God should remove me from where I am because my being a judge is by His mercy.”
Meanwhile, the trial judge while accepting the plea for adjournment said the court must not be made to embark on ‘neck-breaking speed’ when there is still much time to hear all sides of the case and added that for the principle of fair hearing and justice to be given to all parties, no one should be deprived from being adequately heard.
He, therefore, adjourned the case to Nov 27 for defence.