Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has restrained the Department of State Service (DSS), Police, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and seven others from stopping, truncating, or disrupting the conduct of congresses for wards, local governments, and the Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The scheduled congresses are to elect new officers who will run the affairs of the PDP at the wards, LGs, and state levels of the PDP in Rivers State.
The Congresses are to also elect ad hoc and national delegates as specified in the constitution, guidelines, adjusted timetable, and schedule of activities for 2024.
Delivering the ruling on Tuesday, in an ex-parte application brought by six members of the PDP in Rivers State, Justice Lifu ordered the PDP, acting national chairman of the party, Ambassador Iliya Umar Damagum, national secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, and national organising secretary, Hon. Umar Bature, to proceed with the conduct of the congresses as scheduled by the PDP.
The judge, however, ordered the PDP and the three national officers to adhere strictly to and honour the provisions of the guidelines, adjusted timetable, and schedule of activities 2024 duly issued and published pending the determination of a motion on notice for interlocutory injunction filed along with the motion ex parte.
Justice Lifu also restrained PDP and the three National Officers from allowing any person who did not obtain a nomination form or ad hoc form within the time stipulated in the guideline to run for any elective office of PDP, ad hoc, or national delegate position pending the determination of the motion on notice already filed.
In granting the request of the six PDP members who filed the motion ex-parte, the judge ordered them to enter into a fresh undertaking to indemnify the defendants to be assessed by the court if, by the end of the day, the court discovered that it was misled into granting the restraining orders.
Justice Lifu subsequently fixed August 15 for all parties in the motion on notice to appear before him for their respective defences.
A certified enrolled order in respect of the motion ex-parte signed by Justice Lifu and Registrar of the Court, Mrs. Awase Igba, dated July 23, 2024, indicated that a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, K. C. O. Njemanze, SAN, argued the ex-parte application on behalf of the six plaintiffs.
Hon. Aaron Chukwuemeka, the current Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the PDP in Rivers State, deposed to an affidavit in support of the ex-parte application.
The six PDP members who filed the ex-parte application are Hon. Aaron Chukwuemeka, Dr. Benibo George, Solomon Ogbonna, Lenebari Inaania, Enia Harris, and Thank God Owhorji.
The defendants in the ex-parte motion marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/106/12014 are: PDP, Damagum, Anyanwu, Bature, INEC, Nigeria Police Force, Inspector General of Police, Commissioner of Police, Rivers State, Director General, Department of State Service (DSS), and DSS as 1st to 10th defendants, respectively.
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