Non service of court process stalls suit seeking Buhari’s impeachment

A Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, on Tuesday adjourned the suit seeking to compel the National Assembly to commence impeachment proceedings against President Mohammadu Buhari.

At the resume hearing of the matter, Justice Maureen Onyetenu, adjourned the matter to November 26, because of non service of the notice of preliminary objection to the applicants by counsel to President Buhari.

It would be recalled that Kanmi Ajibola, the chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association, Ilesa branch and a human rights activist, Mr Suleiman Adeniyi had approached the court seeking order to compel National Assembly to begin impeachment process against President Buhari for violating  some cash

sections of the Constitution.

Counsel to President Buhari, Solomon Ogunlowo, while addressing the court said the applicants had not been served the notice of preliminary objection to the reliefs being sought by the applicants.

He however said other respondents in the case had been served, but noted that the applicants had not been served and requested for an adjournment.

Counsel for the applicants, Samuel Echeonwu, as well as counsel to the Speaker of the  House of Representatives, Mr Felix Ukaegbu, did not object the adjournment sought by Buhari’s counsel.

Speaking with newsmen after the court session, one of the claimants in the case, Ajibola said: “The matter came up in July this year and they were served in July. Ordinarily, they have seven days after service  to respond to the processes served on them.

“But what happened in court today showed that they failed to respond within the required time by the law, may be  they did that in a way to scuttle the process, but  it doesn’t stop at that.

“They  ought to have commissioned bailiff to serve us but instead they offered to serve personally and having undertaken to do that, they failed to serve us.

“Even the service copy they are supposed to serve us today, they said it was not in their file. Because of that we couldn’t make progress in court today.”

Reacting, counsel to President Buhari, dismissed claims that non service of the applicants was intentional.

Ogunlowo explained: “The reason for non-service was that the litigation officer that came to file the processes undertook to effect the service on all parties in the matter. Unfortunately, she served all other parties but she didn’t serve  the applicants.”