Ogun PDP petitions Buhari over judge’s conduct


The Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the role of Justice Mobolaji Ojo in the crisis rocking the party.

The petition, which was delivered to the Presidency at the weekend, was signed by its secretary, Alhaji Semiu Sodipo.

Sodipo, in the petition, said: “I write this petition seeking Your Excellency’s urgent intervention and prompt investigation into the conduct of Hon. Justice Mobolaji A. Ojo who sits at Court 4 in the Abeokuta Division of the High Court of Ogun State with the authority of Chief Adebayo Dayo, the State Chairman of the Ogun State Chapter of the PDP and on behalf of the entire State Executive of the Ogun State Chapter of the party.”

He said the probe would deepen the president’s battle against “the scourge of corruption and getting rid of it in our body politic”.

Sodipo said he was aware “of how you have lamented that some bad eggs in the nation’s judiciary are frustrating the anti-corruption war by either aiding or abetting corrupt practices”.

The case against the judge, said Sodipo, is that “Chief Adebayo Dayo and I were sued as the 3rd and 4th Defendants (representing the Ogun State Chapter of the PDP) in Suit No: AB/121/2016 – Barr Wasiu Boladale Sanni and four others versus the Peoples Democratic Party and three others. The suit was filed by political malefactors in the state, most of who had even left the PDP and decamped to Social Democratic Party (SDP) during the 2015 general elections.

“We immediately instructed our solicitors who entered appearance for us and filed among other processes a Notice of Preliminary Objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit.

“I am aware that the PDP at the National Level also instructed solicitors to defend the suit who also filed their processes along with a Notice of Preliminary Objection.

“The crux of the complaints of the Plaintiffs in the suit is against the resolution of the National Executive Committee (NEC) which extended the tenure of all its organs at the ward, local government, state and National levels pending the conduct of congresses/Convention scheduled for April and May 2016 by the party. They are seeking a declaration that the NEC of the party had no authority to issue such a directive. The suit was assigned to Hon. Justice Mobolaji Ojo sitting at Court 4 of the High Court of Ogun State, Abeokuta.”

He went on: “The plaintiffs in the suit relying on a judgment delivered by the Federal High Court on the 2nd of May 2012 in Suit No: FHC/L/CS/347/12 – CHIEF ADEBAYO DAYO & ANOR V. PDP & 4 ORS are arguing that the tenure of the Chief Adebayo Dayo led executive which was recognised by the Federal High Court in the said 2nd of May 2012 judgment had expired in February 2016.

“It is important at this juncture to acquaint Your Excellency of the political wiles of some disgruntled party members in Ogun State. It would give great clarity on subsequent events. Hon. Oladipupo Olatunde Adebutu, a prominent member of the Party in Ogun State has set himself against the progress of the Party in Ogun State. He nurses an ambition to be the gubernatorial candidate of the Party in the 2019 general elections and has boasted to several persons that he would ensure that he gains control over the State Executive Committee of the party in order to be unchallenged at the primaries of the party that would produce the gubernatorial candidate of the Party for the 2019 general elections.

“Knowing full well that the loyalty of myself and the Chairman of the Ogun State Executive Committee, Chief Adebayo Dayo cannot be bought, he has resorted to all manner of illegal, unlawful and criminal means to hijack control of the leadership of the State Executive. He, in conjunction with his cronies, has attempted to break into the Secretariat of the Party and steal the records of the Party. Luckily, we got wind of his plan and informed the security apparatus in the State who formed an ambush for them. Two of his personal escorts provided by the Nigerian Police were arrested along with other thugs during the attack on the Secretariat. The criminal charge is still pending at the Ogun State Magistrate’s Court.

“We immediately recognised the suit filed by Barr. Wasiu Boladale Sanni, one of his loyalists who had prior to this time abandoned the Party, as one of his political gimmicks and one of his efforts to hijack the leadership of the State Executive by crooked means.

“We received feedback and information from several members of the Party that Hon. Adebutu had boasted that he would get the leadership structure of the State Executive through court orders as he has found a ‘favorable Judge’ who would carry out his bidding. As we did not want to impugn the integrity of any judicial officer without justifiable cause, though we were wary of Hon. Adebutu in view of his antecedents, we believed we would get justice from Hon. Justice Mobolaji Ojo. Subsequent events proved us wrong.”

Sodipo said after the conduct of the congresses in Ogun State, several persons began to hold themselves out as members of the executive that emerged from parallel congresses conducted.

“We were therefore constrained to return to the Federal High Court, who had in the judgment delivered on the 2nd of May 2012 held that the Chief Adebayo Dayo-led Executive of the Party were the authentic executive of the party having emerged from the valid congresses conducted by the Party, to seek a determination of whether the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ought not to mandate the PDP to accept the officers which emerged from the congresses conducted by the Chief Adebayo Dayo-led Executive,” he said.

Hon. Justice I.N. Buba, he said, on June 24, restrained the national organ of the party from recognising structure other than the one that emerged from the congresses by the Dayo-led executive.

Sodipo said despite the existence of this judgment, Justice Ojo, on July 8, gave a contrary ruling. He added that this was done without court processes being served on the defendants.

“Your Excellency can imagine our dismay, shock and utter disappointment when we saw a Notice signed by a Hon. Sikirulai Ogundele on the 15th of July, 2016 in which he contemptuously referred to himself as the Chairman of the PDP Ogun State Chapter and issued to the Secretary of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) referred to an interlocutory order granted by Hon. Justice Mobolaji Ojo on the 26th of May 2016 directing the PDP, the Independent National Electoral Commission, the Inspector General of Police and the Department of State Services to accord recognition to the Hon. Sikirulai Ogundele-led Ogun State Executive Committee of the PDP in Suit No: AB/170/2016 – MR. TAOFEEQ APESIN & 9 ORS V PDP & 3 ORS, was brought to our attention.

“The only proof of service that Chief Liady availed the court was a notice by DHL of a package sent to PDP which did not indicate who (if anyone at all) received the processes for PDP. Furthermore, there is no order permitting the Claimants to serve the processes by using courier service, yet Hon. Justice Ojo curiously proceeded to hear and grant the interlocutory orders sought without ensuring proper service on the PDP.

“The headquarters of three out of the four Defendants in the suit (PDP, INEC and Inspector General of Police) are in Abuja. The claimants did not apply for leave to serve out of jurisdiction.

“Furthermore, the so-called result sheets the Claimants are relying on in the suit and their motions are obviously manufactured by them. They have no stamp of either the PDP or INEC.”