A High Court sitting in the Nation’s capital, Abuja, has heard a suit demanding the sack of the Interim Management Committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The suit was filed by two rights activists, Lucky Akharame and Edward Brisibe.
The plaintiffs and two others in a motion of notice, are praying the court to sack the IMC members all of whom are 4th-8th defendants and restrain Godswill Akpabio who is the 2nd defendant from recognizing the NDDC IMC pending the hearing of a substantive suit questioning the legality of the IMC which is currently before the same court in accordance with the NDDC act.
When the suit resumed on Tuesday, Justice Inyang Ekwo, the presiding judge, gave counsels to the defendants and the plaintiffs two minutes each to adumbrate on issues on the suit.
The locus standi of the plaintiffs to institute the suit was questioned by the Attorney General of the Federation, A.O Oloruntobi, Minister of Niger Delta, Isyaku Saleh and the NDDC, Alex Ejesieme SAN, all of whom are counsel to the 1st and 2nd as well as the 3rd to 8th defendants as stated in their arguments that the plaintiffs have not shown that they are actually indigenes of the Niger Delta.
Addressing journalists at the end of the hearing, the plaintiffs both of whom are lawyers representing themselves, said: “Based on their arguments, we replied by stating that by virtue of the provisions of the constitution precisely section 24, we have duties as Nigerians to protect the rule of law.
”We also affirmed that we bring to the notice of law enforcement and all related, any wrongdoing which seeks to threaten the laws of our nation, and there is no other way to do this as we cannot go into the forest with guns, but to approach the court whether as indigenes of the Niger Delta or not, the fact that we are Nigerians we have that right to do so.
“We also stated that it was illegal to have appointed the IMC in the first place, and since that illegality has been allowed, it has opened the doors to several illegalities and even threatening the peaceful running of the commission and the development of the Niger Delta region.”
After listening to the prayers, the presiding judge adjourned the case to October 17 for judgment.
