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Court vacates order stopping Benue assembly from sitting in chamber

By Joseph Wantu, Makurdi
13 November 2018   |   3:38 am
A Makurdi high court presided over by the Chief Judge of Benue State, Justice Aondover Kaka'an, yesterday vacated the interim order restraining the House of Assembly speaker, Titus Uba, and 21 other members from sitting at the assembly complex. Justice Kaka'an vacated the order while ruling on a motion brought before him by the speaker’s…

[FILE PHOTO] Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom

A Makurdi high court presided over by the Chief Judge of Benue State, Justice Aondover Kaka’an, yesterday vacated the interim order restraining the House of Assembly speaker, Titus Uba, and 21 other members from sitting at the assembly complex.

Justice Kaka’an vacated the order while ruling on a motion brought before him by the speaker’s legal team led by Sebastine Hon (SAN) and Edward Ashiekaa (SAN), praying the court to set aside its earlier interim order of August 13, 2018.

The order, which was brought by Mike Usman (SAN), had restrained the speaker and the 21 others from conducting legislative business at the complex.

Justice Kaka’an ruled that by law, the judicial arm of government could not restrain the legislature from performing its functions.

According to him, the role of the judiciary is not to overheat the polity with orders capable of destabilising same, maintaining that the court should not encourage impunity.

The chief judge described the argument against the granting of the motion by counsel to the former speaker, Terkimbi Ikyange, and seven others as an academic exercise.

He ruled that the order of August 13, which restrained the use of the assembly complex, played on the intelligence of an earlier order and the entire legal system; hence a dent on the image of the judiciary.

Kaka’an maintained that injunctions were not at the beck and call of the court to be shared, but that claimants must earn them.

He transferred the case to High Court 9 presided over by Justice Augustine Ityonyiman for hearing and determination on November 26, 2018.

Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Micheal Gusa, stated that by virtue of yesterday’s ruling, the assembly under the leadership of Uba “can now conduct legislative business” at the assembly complex.

The ruling, he added, indicated the existence of separation of powers, as no arm of government can prevent another from carrying out its constitutional functions.

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