A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting in Bwari has ordered substituted service on the embattled former chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Ike Oye, who had been evading service to avoid committal in prison.
The presiding judge, Justice Mohammed Madugu, gave the order on Monday while ruling on an ex parte motion filed and moved by Barrister Michael Ajara, the counsel to the Applicants, Otunba Camaru Lateef Ogidan (APGA National Vice Chairman, South West Geopolitical Zone) and Mustapha Rabiu (APGA National Welfare Officer).
The motion ex parte, supported by a 7-paragraph affidavit, was deposed to by one Monday Uwana.
Counsel to the Applicants, Barrister Ajara told the Judge that the application was seeking leave of court to serve the counsel by substituted means.
The ex parte motion with file number: M/11382/2023, dated and filed on October 3, followed a commital charge filed against the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, and Chief Oye.
Oye and Yakubu, the Respondents, are standing trial for disobeying the Supreme Court judgment delivered on March 24, 2023, which had affirmed Chief Njoku as the authentic National Chairman of APGA.
The Respondents are also in the dock for ignoring Justice Madugu’s interim injunction made on May 10, 2023.
In the injunction, the judge ordered the parties in the suit to maintain status quo pending the determination of suit regarding the tussle for the soul of the party.
On June 6, 2023, the court further ordered INEC to implement the judgement of the Supreme Court which had recognized Chief Njoku as the National Chairman of APGA.
In flagrant disobedience to the court order, however, INEC had continued to recognize Oye as National Chairman of APGA.
The electoral body even went as far monitoring an illegal convention held by Oye and his gang at Awka which produced one Sylvester Ezeokenwa as the party’s new National Chairman.
Oye’s faction further fielded the names of purported candidates for the party for the November governorship elections in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa states.
Consequently, the Applicants filed separate commital charges against Yakubu and Oye in the suit marked: FCT/HC/CV/4068/2023) for disobeying a valid court order.
Having heard the committal motion seeking to jail the INEC Chairman, Justice Madugu ruling reserved judgement and is yet to communicate his judgment.
Oye, on his part, has been on the run and deployed every available tactics to evade service of the court papers.
Even the judge’s order that court processes be served on Oye through his counsel was unfruitful as Oye reportedly avoided any contact or communication with his counsel.
Addressing the court on Monday, Ajara prayed the judge to grant the application, saying that the motion ex parte was predicated on the inability of the Court Baillif to serve Oye’s counsel the court documents.
Ajara said: “It is clear that the counsel for the respondent (Oye) is evading service and even his secretary was directed not to accept service.
“Considering the urgency of the matter, which has lingered for too long, we urge the court to grant the motion for substituted service.”
Granted the motion, Justice Madugu ordered that the committal processes be pasted on Barr. Victor Agunzi’s, Victor Oye’s Counsel, official address, that is, APGA National Secretariat.
He, thereafter, adjourned the case to Monday 16 for hearing of the main application.
Addressing newsmen on the case after the court hearing, Counsel to the Applicants, Barr. Ajara, said that nothing is standing between the court adopting the motion hence.
He said:
On his part, Edozie Njoku express hope that after all delays, justice will prevail in his favour as the authentic APGA chairman.
He said:
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