Ahoada-East: Court To Rule On Motion Next Month

A High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, presided over by Justice George Omereji, has fixed May 16, 2013, to rule on a motion brought before the court seeking fora stay of proceeding on a case involving the embattled Vice Chairman of Ahoada-East Local Government Area, Hon Britain Ewor and the Legislative Assembly of the council over a purported impeachment of the vice chairman by the councilors pending before the High Court.

The counsel to the Ahoada-East Legislative Assembly, Ifedayo Adedipo (SAN) had approached the court with an oral application asking the court to stay proceeding on the matter pending the determination of an appeal filed at the appellant court which would come up on June 5, 2013 and prayed the court to adjourn hearing on the matter beyond the June 5, 2013 when the matter would be heard at the Appeal Court.

However, counsel to the claimant, Barrister A.B. Ihua-Maduenyi opposed the oral application as submitted by the respondent counsel, adding that it was a ploy to scuttle judgment on the matter and delay the court procedure.

According to him, there was no emperical evidence before the court showing that the matter was before an Appeal Court and urged the court to dismiss the application for lack of merit.

He, however, told the court to withdraw and revoke the bail application earlier granted to all the accused persons in order to maintain the credibility of the court, if the court must go ahead to grant the application as sought by the respondent counsel.

The trial judge, Justice George Omereji after listening to the arguments of both counsels adjourned ruling on the matter to 16 May, 2013.

It would be recalled that Justice Omereji had on February 25, 2013 found the councillors of Ahoada-East Local Government Area guilty for not showing respect to the order of the court which the court had earlier restrained them from impeaching the vice chairman of the council from office, which they flouted.

Justice Omereji, however, in that light granted the accused persons bail to the tune of N2million each with two sureties in like sum and ordered them to reinstate the embattled vice chairman and ensure that all allowances and emolument due him as a way of bringing reprieve to the councilors and warmed that the court would pronounce their sentence in the next adjourned date. If they fail to comply to the court directive.

The trial judge averred that the window to grant them bail was to enable the court know whether they disrespected the court consciously and adjourned the matter to Monday, 15th April for judgement.