Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has returned to the court registry for reassignment a fundamental rights suit filed by the detained self-styled Director-General of the Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, Adeniyi Adeyemi.
The court declined to proceed with the hearing after establishing that the 72-hour period granted to the respondents to show cause why Adeyemi’s remaining reliefs should be granted had not expired.
The matter came up before the judge for the respondents to show cause in response to Adeyemi’s application.
At the proceeding, counsel for the applicant, Muhammad Abdulaziz, told the court that the respondents had been duly served and that the applicant was ready to proceed.
Counsel to the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mercy Akeredolu, was also in court, while other respondents were absent.
The applicant’s counsel said, “As ordered yesterday, all the respondents have been duly served and we are ready to proceed.”
The registrar subsequently confirmed that the order was served on the respondents on September 8, while the hearing notice was served on September 9.
Justice Egwuatu, however, queried the timing of the service, noting that the 72-hour period had not elapsed.
The judge also questioned the competence of the proof of service for the hearing notice, asking whether it had been properly deposed to before a commissioner for oaths.
He consequently held that the respondents were yet to exhaust the period granted to them to show cause.
Justice Egwuatu thereafter returned the case file to the registry for reassignment and directed the applicant to return when the respondents’ time had expired and the matter was ready to proceed.
The development followed an earlier order by the court directing the Inspector-General of Police, the police and the Attorney-General of the Federation to show cause within 72 hours why Adeyemi’s remaining reliefs should not be granted.
The court had, however, granted one of the reliefs sought by Adeyemi, ordering the authorities to allow him access to lawyers of his choice at reasonable hours while he remains in custody.
Adeyemi had sought six reliefs in his fundamental rights suit, including an order for his release from custody, bail pending the determination of the case and access to medical practitioners of his choice.
He also sought an order restraining the police from interrogating him or obtaining a statement from him without his lawyer being present.
The court declined to grant the substantive reliefs on an ex parte basis, insisting that the respondents should first be given an opportunity to respond.
Adeyemi was arrested in Osun State in July after the Federal High Court in Abuja issued a bench warrant for his arrest over his repeated failure to appear for arraignment.
He is facing an eight-count charge bordering on alleged forgery, fraud and impersonation over his claim to be the Director-General of the PFIPC, an organisation the Presidency has disowned as “fake.”
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