31st March, 2014
A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday fixed 8 May for hearing in a suit filed by a constitutional lawyer, Dr Tunji Abayomi seeking to stop the National Conference.
Justice Kafarati adjourned the case after hearing Abayomi who represented himself and the Federal Government’s counsel, Femi Falana, who was represented by Mr Samuel Ogala.
Abayomi had on March 3 instituted a suit challenging the constitutionality of the confab and sought to stop the government from proceeding with the confab.
Joined as defendants in the suit are President Goodluck Jonathan, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives.
At the mention of the case earlier, Abayomi had sought leave of the court to amend his original processes to include the leaders of the conference as parties in the suit.
Justice Abdul Kafarati granted his prayer, joining Justice Idris Kutigi, Prof. Bolaji Akinyemi and Mrs Valarie Azinge, conference chairman, vice-chairman and secretary, respectively, as fifth, sixth and seventh defendants.
At the resumed sitting on Monday, Abayomi informed the court that the fifth to the seventh defendants, who had just been served, were not represented.
He also told the court that the first and second defendants had served him with notices of preliminary objections.
Abayomi said he would like to take the two processes together because they concerned issues that obviously pertain to the substantive suit, that is, the president’s power to convene the confab.
Responding, counsel to the Federal Government, Mr Samuel Ogala, said he was not objecting to the motion and Kafarati, in a short ruling, granted the plaintiff’s prayer.
NAN recalls that Abayomi had in suit no. FHC/ABJ/CS/167/204 argued that the President lacked the powers to convene a national conference without approval from the National Assembly.