Emmanuel Adeyemi, Lokoja
A Lokoja High court, yesterday, adjourned a case seeking to disqualify the candidate of the peoples Democratic party, PDP, Musa Wada, from contesting the election to Nov 27.
Abubakar Idris, the son of former governor of the state had dragged Wada who is his brother in-law to court on the ground that he was not properly elected as the standard bearer of the party and urged the court to disqualify him and declare him( Abubakar) the winner of the party’s primary election.
The court had adjourned the case last Friday till Tuesday, November 5 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 has therefore handed over the case to him and that he needed time to obtain record of proceedings from the registry of the court in order to study it.
He also said the case file handed over to him was less than 24 hours and that he needed time to study the file whether to continue with the case as at the stage it reached or to modify it by calling more witnesses.
Olowookere therefore requested the court to adjourn the case, requesting for five working weeks so that he would be able to study the case properly and continue ( if necessary) at the stage it has 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) does not need any extra time to study a case which has reached a defence level.
Otaru argued that the court must be mindful that the issue in contention which is the governorship election is just 11 days away and of public interest.
He said the defendant was only using a delay tactic to prolong the case and reminded the trial judge that he promised to give the case an expeditious hearing and urged the court to over rule 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 is not 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 .