Court Issues Substituted Exparte Order On Plateau Assembly, Speaker To Join Suspended LGAs Chairmen/Councilors

Yakubu Busari

Honourable Justice, S.B.Samchi of High Court, N0,15 sitting in Jos division has issued out an express exparte order of substituted service to the Plateau State House of Assembly and the Speaker’s Rt. Hon. Gabriel Dewan for them to appear to join in the suit file by the 17 Local Government Chairmen and their councilors.

The judge said that the service should be effectively served before the 5th Day of December, 2023 through the following avenue either by pacing on the building entrance to the assembly complex or to any senior staff, clerk of the assembly, and whoever’s working as a staff.

Samchi ordered that although the members are now on research the substituted service shall be pasted around the next available building as notice to the Speaker’s and 10th assembly members.

According to his order, ” any staff, clerk available to receive service order who is competent at the gate which might call for the attention of the members, adding, the questioned place before the court were the defendant’s counsel.

In a related development, the Management Committee Chairmen in Plateau State led by Hon.Daniel Kungmi who sought the audience of the court with a joinder in the suit were dismissed for lacking sufficient ground.

The judge explained further that when the suit was instituted on the 18th Day of May,2023 the party seeking to join wasn’t ready so the party did not yet obtain qualification to join.

The application seeking the right to join has not accrued to him only has an interest to the end of the suit , however, the interest that he might likely fall victim has failed to meet that qualification, the judge explained.

According to the judgment, Hon.Daniel Kunmi is just a necessary witness not a necessary party so the claimants have no relief as the party sought to join and Daniel is not vulnerable to the suit but an interested party.

Justice Samchi , bench ruling delivered revealed that the application seeking to join was grossly insufficient so he resolved the argument in favour of the claimant’s counsel dismissing the application seeking an order of the court for insufficient merits.

The counsel to the Government, Barr. K.M.Malan told the court that he had a fresh application to move which the court gave the audience. The application dated 27/11/2023 is deemed to have been served on the same date.

He said that the application is urging the court to expunge the name of Hon .Vincent Bulus Venman from the substantive suit because the name of the claimant as the 10th in the suit now a member representing Langtang North/South Federal constituency.

Malan argued that his worry is whether he is still a party to this suit having regard to relief sought by the claimant affecting a local government chairman and whether the ground for reliefs for claimants against him will not be LG chairman as captured in the originating surmount.