World enews: Again, Court Adjourns Hearing On Sowore’s Appeal Challenging Ruling on AAC Party Leadership

An Appeal Court sitting in Abuja has fixed April 4, 2022, for the hearing of an appeal filed by human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, challenging a high court judgment on the leadership of the African Action Congress (AAC).

The judgment was delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Sowore had in an appeal marked CA/A/812/2019, filed by the National Legal Adviser of the party and counsel for the activist, Inibehe Effiong, at the Court of Appeal prayed for the setting aside of Justice Ekwo’s judgment.

The case has suffered setbacks as a result of the delay tactics employed by 1st and 2nd respondents Leonard Nzenwa and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) respectively in the case.

At the resumed hearing of the case on Thursday, a new counsel for the 1st Respondent, R.O, Yusuf, after announcing his appearance, prayed the court for permission to file a respondent brief of argument within seven days.

The judge, however, challenged him for wasting the court’s time, adding that he ought to have filed the brief of argument immediately he took over the case instead of coming to court to seek permission.

The three-man panel headed by Justice A.J. Adah, therefore, granted the prayer as requested.

On his submission, Sowore’s lawyer, Effiong informed the court of the need to regularise their reply to 2nd respondent’s brief of argument.

He also prayed the court to consider a short adjournment since the case revolved around the leadership of the political party and considering the fact that INEC had issued guidelines for the next election.

The court, therefore, adjourned the case to April 4, 2022, for hearing.

Inibehe, while addressing journalists, said, “We came this morning for the hearing of the appeal against the judgement of federal high court delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo in 2019.

“We had hoped that the appeal will be heard today because we have filed all our processes and served Leonard and INEC.

“When we came on Tuesday we were confronted with a notice of change of counsel. Every litigant has the right to determine who should represent him but as I indicated to the court when you have a team of lawyers representing you in a matter since 2019 and just at the peak of the case when the matter is to be heard, the person says I want to change my lawyers.

“I thought my lawyers had filed my brief. I was misled. I just realised they did not file and the person brings a new lawyer who comes into the matter and still does not file the brief but only asks for permission to file.

“Whereas he would have just filed as my learned justices of the court of appeal observed.

“That is why I said in the open court it is a delay tactic. You will observe at some point my Lords even made an observation that why didn’t you file. You would have just filed so that this appeal would have been heard. We know all these tactics are just to buy time.”