Ogun PDP drags Oyinlola to Supreme Court

The Ogun State Executive Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party has asked the Supreme Court to reverse the reinstatement of former Osun Governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, as the National Secretary of the party.

In a notice of appeal filed at the Court of Appeal, Abuja, on Thursday, the appellants want the apex court to reinstate the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja,  that sacked Oyinlola as the PDP National Secretary.

Justice Abdul Kafarati of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had on January 11 declared invalid, null and void Oyinlola’s nomination and subsequent election as the National Secretary of the party.

Kafarati had relied on the order and two separate judgments of the Federal High Court, Lagos, that nullified the South-West zonal congress that produced Oyinlola as candidate for the National Convention in March 2012.

But the Court of Appeal, chaired by Justice Amiru Sanusi, on Wednesday reinstated the formr Osun after setting aside the judgment by the lower court.

Dissatisfied, the Ogun PDP Chairman, Adebayo Dayo; and Secretary,  Alhaji Semiu Sodipo, through their counsel, Ajibola Oluyede, on Thursday filed the notice of appeal for and on behalf of other state’s officers.

Apart from the four grounds of appeal stated in the notice of appeal, the Appellants said they shall file additional grounds upon compilation of the Record of Proceedings in the case.

According to them, the Court of Appeal, Abuja erred in law “when it overturned and set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court in this action on the basis that the order sought to be enforced in this action, which was made in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/282/2012 was made in breach of the 1st Defendant’s right to fair hearing because he was not a party to that action in which the order was made”.

The Appellants argued that the appellate court failed to realise that it had no jurisdiction to invalidate/nullify the order made in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/282/2012 when there was no appeal against that order before it.

They maintained that the appeal referred to by the appellate court in arriving at its decision had been withdrawn and struck out by the Lagos Division of the court.

“The First Defendant (Oyinlola) did not appeal against the said order as he could have done and the appeal filed by the named Respondents in that action was withdrawn and struck out to the knowledge of the 2nd Defendant and he did nothing about it.

“The Honourable Court went on a voyage of discovery in arriving at this conclusion because there was no appeal or valid complaint against that order before it in the appeal,” Oluyede stated.

 The Appellants also stated that the Court misdirected itself when it said the suit that led to Oyinlola’s sack was an abuse of court process because there were other cases filed to enforce the order made in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/282/2012.

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