Court adjourns ruling on Ogun lawmakers’ application against reps, IGP

Court adjourns ruling on Ogun lawmakers’ application against reps, IGP

| Print | E-mail

Written by Olayinka Olukoya, Abeokuta Thursday, 04 November 2010

An Ogun State high court sitting in Abeokuta, on Wednesday, adjourned ruling on the application for injunction filed by the state House of Assembly’s factional speaker, Emmanuel Soyemi Coker, restraining the Inspector General of Police, Mr Hafiz Ringim, from giving effect to the resolution passed by the House of Representatives.
The court, presided over by Justice Patrick Onamade, reserved the ruling at the hearing of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction brought by counsel for the applicant, Mr Olusina Sofola, SAN.
Nigerian Tribune recalls that the House of Representatives had recently passed a resolution, asking the IGP to re-open the state assembly within seven days to allow the former speaker, Tunji Egbetokun, to reconvene  the legislature.
Coker had approached the court to stop the IGP from giving effect to the resolution passed by the House of Representatives joined as first defendant in the suit.
Coker’s counsel also tendered a 22-paragraph affidavit deposed to by the deputy speaker, Edwards Ayo-Odugbesan, and a four-page written submission.
Sofola argued that the House of Representatives lacked the constitutional power to pass the contentious resolution, adding that Section 11 (4) of the 1999 Constitution was not applicable in the circumstance.
He also submitted that Section 11 (4) did not confer the power to recognise any of the factional speakers on the federal lawmakers, stressing that only the court of law was in the best position to determine such.