Anambra guber: Court orders service on Kanu, IPOB over plot to disrupt poll

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday granted leave to Dr. Richard Ndubuaku to serve court processes, seeking to stop the leader of Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu and others from disrupting the November 18 governorship election in Anambra Stars through substituted means.

Justice Babatunde Quadri gave the order of substituted service on Kanu and other respondents after listening to arguments by plaintiff’s lawyer, Mr Smart Iheazor, seeking for leave to serve the processes on Kanu and IPOB outside Abuja.
Justice Quadri also granted leave to the plaintiff to serve Kanu and other respondents out of jurisdiction through a publication of the court processes in a national newspaper.

But Justice Quadri refused the plaintiff’s ex-parte application, seeking for an interim order to stop IPOB from interfering with the governorship election.

The judge rather directed the plaintiff to put the defendants including the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), the Nigeria Police and IPOB on notice.

The judge added that while the court has permitted the plaintiff to serve the defendants through the substituted means , the AGF should be served personally.

Other respondents in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/756/2017 are the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the Commandant General, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the AGF.

The plaintiff, Dr. Richard Ndubuaku, who described himself as a businessman based in Awka, with property in Onitsha and other parts of Anambra State, wants the court to restrain Kanu, IPOB and their agents from making utterances or taking actions inimical to the conduct of the governorship election scheduled for November 18 this year.

He also wants the court to restrain Kanu and IPOB from further harassing or intimidating eligible voters in Anambra State or mobilising their members to scuttle the planned election.

Ndubuaku further claimed that there was the need for the court to grant his request not the grounds that Kanu and members of his group could carry out their threat to disrupt the election if not restrained.

He added that if allowed to proceed with their threat, the activities of Kanu and IPOB members could result in irreparable damages to him and other innocent citizens of Anambra State.

The plaintiff also disclosed in a supporting affidavit, that Kanu and other IPOB members “have serially made utterances and threats to disrupt the conduct of the governorship election in Anambra State this November.”

He further alleged that, “The respondents (Kanu and others) are capable of carrying out their threat, and if this happens, many lives will be lost and properties destroyed, which will include that of the plaintiff.

“If the defendants are not restrained, it may lead to confrontation with other law abiding citizens, who insist on electing their governor and a clash with the defendants will occasion bloodbath as there would be total breakdown of law and order.

Moving the ex-parte motion, the plaintiff’s lawyer, Smart Iheazor, told the judge that an interim order was required to prevent members of IPOB from throwing Anambra State into a state of anarchy. He said that IPOB was not relenting on its threat to disrupt the election.

Iheazor said that 15 exhibits attached to their motion including the pleadings of the Ohaneze Ndigbo and minutes of meeting South East governors held with IPOB among others were clear evidences that IPOB had refused to listen to reasons and were therefore bend on disrupting the election.

But the judge said that to grant an interim order restraining everybody including the law enforcement agencies from doing anything about the election will be counter productive , particularly when none of the defendants has taken any concrete step to obstruct the election.

Justice Quadri added that the Federal Government which fixed the election for November 18, knows how best to conduct the election, judging from the fact that it successful conducted election in the North East in 2015 at the heat of Boko Haram insurgency.

The judge later adjourned the matter till October 9 for further hearing of the suit.