Court Strikes Out Suit Against ALGON President

The Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out a suit by Mohammed Abubakar purported on behalf of the Board of Trustees of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) challenging the legality of Kolade Alabi-led executive.

Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a ruling on Tuesday, found the suit incompetent.

The court held that the ex-parte order obtained by Mohammed Abubakar on March 29 has lapsed and is no longer competent.

Justice Ekwo stated that since the order was granted, Abubakar neither filed the substantive application for judicial review (granted in the order) nor sought an extension of the ex-parte order.

This was despite the fact Abubakar was given seven days from March 29 to file the substantive application.

Justice Ekwo rejected as “unorthodox and unknown to the Rules of Court” Abubakar’s attempt to bring in one Abdullahi Shuaibu Maje as a co-applicant to the ex-parte process by which leave was obtained.

Justice Ekwo dismissed Abubakar’s motion to amend and to join Maje.

The court concluded that the ex-parte order, having lapsed, could no longer be renewed.

He, therefore, held that the substantive suit itself was also incompetent, invalid and liable to be struck out.

The judge truck the suit out in its entirety.

National Publicity Secretary of ALGON, Mr Solomon Onah, described the ruling as a welcome development.

Onah said the Kolade Alabi-led ALGON executive has been vindicated.