Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Abuja Federal High Court stood firm on Thursday in maintaining his order prohibiting former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, from participating in the party’s meetings scheduled for April 18 and 19, 2024.
Refusing to suspend the order, Justice Ekwo also rejected a similar plea made by Celestine Omehia and former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Austin Opara.
In his rulings on the separate applications filed by Secondus, Omehia, and Opara, the judge deemed the applicants’ cases as fundamentally flawed and lacking in substance.
Two weeks earlier, Justice Ekwo had issued an interim directive preventing Secondus from joining the upcoming PDP meeting, pending the full hearing of the case before the court.
This order was the outcome of an ex-parte application brought by Titus Jones, a PDP member from Ward 5, Ikuru Town, Andoni Local Government Area (LGA) of Rivers State.
In a suit marked as FHC/ABJ/CS/440/2024, Jones named Secondus; PDP; Acting PDP Chairman, Umar Damagun; PDP Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu; PDP NEC; PDP National Working Committee (NWC); PDP Board of Trustees (BoT); and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the defendants.
Represented by Mr. Joshua Musa (SAN), Jones sought an order restraining the NEC, NWC, party’s chairman, secretary, and BoT from permitting Secondus to attend any meetings until the motion on notice is heard, considering his suspension from the party.
During the proceedings on Wednesday, it was revealed that Secondus had filed an appeal challenging the interim order and sought a stay on its execution, issued on April 5, 2024.
After hearing both sides on Wednesday, the judge postponed his decision on whether to suspend the interim order due to the appeal to Thursday.
However, in his ruling, Justice Ekwo determined that the applicants’ case lacked merit as they had not challenged the interim order before appealing.
He highlighted Rule 29 (9)(1) of the court, which sets a specific timeframe for individuals subject to an ex-parte order to request a stay from the court.
Additionally, he noted that by filing an appeal directly with the appellate court, the applicants were circumventing the established legal procedure.
Moreover, the court extended the interim order, preventing the applicants from attending PDP meetings until the cases are fully heard and decided.
It was previously ruled that, “The Order restrains the 1st Defendant from attending any meetings of the 2nd Defendant, including caucus meetings, NEC meetings, or BoT meetings until further notice.
It also prohibits the 4th Defendant from notifying the 1st Defendant of any PDP meetings, and the 2nd Defendant from granting the 1st Defendant entry to its meetings while his suspension is in effect.
Furthermore, it prohibits the 8th Defendant from recognizing any proceedings or resolutions from PDP meetings held in violation of the judgment in a related case pending the hearing and determination of the current suits.”
Meanwhile, a similar case seeking to bar Omehia and Opara from attending the PDP’s NEC meeting has been affected by the court’s decision, with the main matter set for a hearing on April 25.