By Taiye Agbaje
A Magistrates’ Court in Abuja on Friday, adjourned hearing in the case filed against Sen. Monday Okpebholo, the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s governorship candidate in the Saturday election in Edo, indefinitely.
Magistrate Abubakar Mukhtar adjournment followed an order of Justice O.C. Agbaza of the FCT High Court granting leave for Okpebholo to file an application for the judicial review of Mukhtar’s criminal summons against him.
Justice Agbaza, who granted the motion ex-parte moved by Okpebholo’s lawyer, Adaze Emwanta, adjourned the matter until Oct. 28 for hearing.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the magistrate had, on Sept. 12, summoned Okpebholo for allegedly making a false statement on his date of birth.
The APC candidate was asked to appear before the court at 12 noon today, Sept. 20, by Mukhtar.
He was accused of claiming conflicting dates of birth in his nomination forms submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to contest the election.
The case, with suit no CR/W22/816/2024 before the magistrate, was instituted by an indigene of Edo, Honesty Aginbatse.
Against this order, Okpebholo, through his lawyer, Emwanta, filed a suit before the FCT High Court.
The applicant listed Mr Aginbatse and Mukhtar, who is Magistrate Grade 1 in the FCT, as 1st and 2nd respondents.
After the ex-parte motion was moved, Justice Agbaza granted the two reliefs sought.
However, when the matter was called on Friday at the Magistrate Court sitting at Wuse Zone 2, neither Aginbatse nor Okpebholo was in court.
Lawyer to Aginbatse (complainant), R.O. Azinye, told the court that the matter was slated for mention.
Azinye informed the court that the defendant (Okpebholo) had not been served despite several attempts to do so.
He said in view of that, he had filed a motion ex-parte for substituted service on Okpebholo.
But before the lawyer proceeded to adopt his application, the magistrate drew his attention to the order of the FCT High Court that granted leave for judicial review.
Mukhtar held that following the order for a judicial review of the summons issued against Okpebholo, the case be adjourned sine die (indefinitely) pending the determination of the motion on notice pending before the FCT High Court.
NAN reports that Okpebholo’s motion, dated and filed on Sept. 17 sought two orders pursuant to Section 6(6)(b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended); Orders 44 Rule 3 and 43 Rule 1 of FCT High Court Civil Procedure Rules, 2018 anf under the inherent jurisdiction of the court.
The prayers included “an order granting the applicant leave to file an application for judicial review involving an Order of Certiorari against the order of the 2nd respondent; in issuing criminal summons against the applicant, upon the charge/request of the 1st respondent herein.
“An order granting leave for the applicant to file an application for judicial review involving an Order of Prohibition against the order of the 2nd respondent; in issuing criminal summons against the applicant, upon the charge/request of the 1st respondent herein.”
In the 11-ground of arguments filed by his lawyer, the APC candidate said the order issuing criminal summons against him over alleged date of birth forgery was made by Mukhtar without caution and due diligence.
He averred that the charge was contrived by Aginbatse as a ploy to scandalise his image ahead of the Saturday’s poll and to prevent him from presenting himself a d a candidate in the election.
He said the allegations made on the face of the charge before the magistrate had earlier been resolved at the registry of the Supreme Court by virtue of a Deed Pool and gazetted in the official gazette of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Aug. 1.
Okpebholo said on Sept. 12 at about 5pm, his attention was drawn to a criminal summons against him and signed by the magistrate which was flying on the social meda.
He said he observed that the magistrate ordered the summons in respect of an allegation of making false statement concerning his date of birth for which he had already done a Deed of Regularisation.
Besides, he said the aforesaid document bearing his name as accused person was not served on him, but was immediately posted on the social media to scandalise his public image ahead of the gubernatorial polls.
Okpebholo said the hearing of the criminal summons was intentionally fixed on September 20 (Friday), the eve of the election, as a ploy to prevent him from presenting himself as a candidate in the polls. (NAN)
