The Supreme Court of Nigeria, in a sitting that lasted barely five minutes this morning, in Abuja, adjourned the matter brought before it by Rivers State Govenor, Mr. Nyesom Wike, whether elected local government chairmen he sacked from office are entitled to be joined in the matter instituted by the All Progressives Congress, APC, challenging the governor’s action.

The matter was adjourned until December 18, 2018.

The court had resolved that the Department of State Security, DSS, being the 17th Respondent in the matter, be properly served by Wike.

One of the lawyers to the elected chairmen, Barr. Emenike Ebete, who spoke to The Neighbourhood from the Supreme Court, summed the decision of the apex court to mean that until the matter was determined, any further action, including holding of the June 16 local government election, taken by Gov. Wike, would be both sub judice and a nullity. “The appellant did not serve one of the parties. If any of the party has not been served, the matter can not go on.”

The counsel gave an insight into the legal implication.

“The matter is still before the court; still pending. And since the matter is still pending, they ought to respect the processes before the court. It does not lie in their own mouth to begin to calculate when the tenure (of the elected chairmen) elapsed because the Federal High Court had said that it had nullified the election. To them that meant there was no election in the first place.So, if there was no election in the first place, how do you then ascribe tenure to something that had never been? So, it is the court that will determine whether there was an election, and if there was an election, when their tenure will run in the light of the nullification done by the court. Will it begin to run when they were sworn-in or from the day the court said it was a nullity? It is for the court to determine. Not even the Supreme Court, but the Court of Appeal. So, if they sit in their bedroom and begin to calculate (the tenure of the elected chairmen), that amounts to calculating when a man yet to be born would die. So, they can do what they want to do in their lawlessness but we still have the law here. It is for the court to tell us what should be done. Not them.”

One of the affected chairmen, Reginald Ukwuoma, himself a lawyer, explained to The Neighbourhood that Wike had prayed for the exclusion of the DSS, a prayer the court declined in the manner it was presented. Ukwuoma gave further explanation of what transpired in court today.

“The subject matter is the same thing they want to conduct. So, by every legal implication the matter will be sub judice. The matter is pending and if they go ahead to do election contrary to the position of the law, it is a nullity. And today the matter has been adjourned to the eighteenth of December for them to serve the Seventeenth Respodent which is the Director of SSS. And they had wanted to discontinue with (them) since they couldn’t serve them but the court said no they couldn’t discontinue in that form. The court told them that they couldn’t just cross their name by a line. That they must do that formally.

“The implication in Law is very, very clear that if a subject matter has not been disposed off you cant’t tamper with it in any form. It is elementary (in Law). But we know we are living in a state of anarchy where lawlessness prevails and the governor of the state is not given to rule of law.”

While the elected but sacked chairmen are praying to be made necessary parties in the matter, Wike thinks otherwise asking that they have no right to be made joinders. Wike lost his argument in both the High and Appeal Courts, the reason he took it to the apex court.

The matter came up as the first on the list of cases this morning as both parties opened their arguments.

It was gathererd that Gov. Wike had envisaged that the Supreme Court would give its ruling on the matter today. The Neighbourhood could not speak with any of his lawyers after the matter was adjourned despite attempts to do so.

Comrade Celestine AkpoBari, one of the affected, elected chairmen, who was present in the court, told The Neighbourhood that they would return on the 18th of December to continue with the matter. “The Supreme Court adjourned the matter to enable the service to the DSS to be effected. We shall return as adjourned.”

Both sides had their legal counsels present with OCJ Okocha, SAN, Emmanuel Aguma,SAN, Rivers State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, leading the litany of lawyers on Wike’s side. On the side of the chairmen, ST Hon, SAN, Barr. Emenike Ebete and other lawyers, were in court.

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