The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami (SAN), on Monday lost his bid to get the Oyo State High Court 7, sitting at Ring Road, Ibadan, to vacate the order restraining him and security agencies from arresting or harassing Chief Sunday Adeyemo (aka Sunday Igboho) pending the determination of the suit.
Justice Ladiran Akintola had ruled against Malami’s application when it was moved by his legal representatives before the court on Monday, asking the court to vacate the order because it was an interim injunction which should not last longer than seven days, adding that the order was given on August 4.
The court in its ruling on the application had held that vacating the order could render eventual judgment in the suit nugatory should Igboho be killed before judgment is given in the matter and had extended the order till next date of hearing.
Counsel to the Department of State Security (DSS), Mr T.A Nurudeen, had then asked for a short adjournment to enable him file his further affidavit to the counter affidavit filed by Igboho’s lead counsel, Chief Yomi Alliyu (SAN) on the preliminary objection raised by Malami on the competence of the court to hear the matter based on lack of jurisdiction.
Alliyu had objected to this application on the ground that the rules of court only allow parties five days to file their reply in cases bordering on fundamental human rights enforcement procedure.
Justice Akintola however ruled that respondents can still ask for more time since Nurudeen proved that he had not been officially served the counter affidavit.
The case was subsequently adjourned till September 7 for hearing.
Reacting to the development, Alliyu said his team is at present more worried about the plight of its clients being held by the DSS in Abuja against court order, adding that “we are mostly concerned with what is happening in Abuja. A court of law ordered that 12 people should be released and the DSS is sitting on that judgment. I have reminded them in my press release that the DSS leader should learn from Ibrahim Magu (former EFCC Acting Chairman).
“If you think you are in authority today, tomorrow, you may find yourself in the same trap which you set for your enemy. And I will implore everybody in this government, especially senior lawyers in this government, to advise this government against disrespecting the order of court. These people have not taken to arms. They have not done anything. We have shown that fundamental human rights involve self-determination. They are merely asking for self-determination.
“You arrested them, murdered two where you arrested them, you destroyed house and cars. Yet, they have not taken to arms. They went to court to ask for their fundamental human rights. The court granted them bail. They perfected the bail but DSS now gave an excuse that it got an application from somebody else asking for the same relief. A man said in 1946: “They first came for communists, I didn’t do anything because I was not a communist. They came for socialists and I was not concerned because I was not a socialist. They came for Jews, I did not raise an eyebrow because I’m not a Jew. They later came for me and nobody was there to defend me,” he stated.
