By Adeola Badru
The Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan has once again extended its interim order restraining any interference with the planned National Convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), scheduled to take place in Ibadan on Saturday.
The extension will remain in force until Friday, when the substantive case comes up for further hearing.
In his ruling on Wednesday, Justice Ladiran Akintola ordered that the interim injunction earlier granted on an ex-parte motion filed by the claimant/applicant would continue to subsist pending the determination of the suit before the court.
The judge, after hearing submissions from counsels representing both parties, adjourned the matter to Friday for continuation of hearing.
Also ruling on an application for joinder filed by another party in the matter, Justice Akintola held that the application could not be entertained because it was not signed by the deponent.
However, counsel to the defendant, Emmanuel Ukala (SAN), argued that the issue of authorship did not render the application invalid since the identity of the deponent was well established.
He contended that the omission did not amount to a total absence of a signature.
In response, the presiding judge maintained that while the application could not be accepted in its present form, it could be refiled properly.
Speaking to journalists shortly after the proceedings, counsel to the claimant, Mr Musibau Adetunmbi (SAN), explained the development, saying, “We were about to take the application for joinder when the Court discovered that the affidavit was not signed.”
“However, the other party has indicated interest to file another one. That is what transpired in court today.”
He added that the interim injunction granted earlier by the court remains valid and enforceable pending the hearing of the substantive case.
It would be recalled that the court, in an earlier ruling on the ex-parte motion filed by the claimant/applicant, had authorised the PDP to proceed with its National Convention as scheduled to hold in Ibadan on Saturday.
The claimant/applicant had sought an order restraining the defendants, Acting National Chairman, Umar Iliya Damagum; the Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri (for himself and members of the National Convention Organising Committee); and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), from truncating or frustrating the conduct of the party’s convention.
The court also directed the PDP leadership to strictly adhere to the guidelines, timetable, and schedule of activities earlier released for the convention.
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