National chairman of the Action Alliance (AA), Barr Kenneth Udeze, has said the Federal High Court, Osogbo, has not pronounced a contempt judgement against the former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.
He challenged the aggrieved members of the party to produce the said order.
He said the Federal High Court’s judgement, Osogbo, overruled the previous Court of Appeal judgement on the party’s crisis.
He said the application filed at the Federal High Court, Osogbo, was allegedly secretly done to deceive the court.
He said the aggrieved party members had gone to the FCT High Court, Federal High Court, Abuja and the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division and lost all cases.
He said the five cases were about who the authentic National Chairman of Action Alliance (AA) is.
He said the authentic national leadership of the party has long been settled in favour of Udeze’s executives up to the Court of Appeal.
He said that while waiting for the Supreme Court’s decision on the crisis, the same members who had joined issues with the party leadership and failed filed a separate matter at the Federal High Court, Osogbo, against INEC, only claiming that they were purportedly acting on behalf of the party.
Udeze clarified in Abuja against a purported order of contempt against Yakubu by the Federal High Court, Osogbo.
He said the party did not sue INEC and Yakubu and did not mandate anyone to do so.
He asked the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to avoid conflicting judgments by the Court.
The statement said: “On the issue of purported court order against the former INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, I want Nigeria to disregard such false rumours as there’s no such judgment.
“The busy bodies making noise with such frivolous propaganda should present the said order and allow the retired former INEC Chairman to enjoy his retirement. He has contributed so much to electoral reforms and deepening democracy in Nigeria.
“Action Alliance (AA) faithfuls across Nigeria and beyond should remain calm and law-abiding. That the national leadership of the party led by the National Chairman, Chief Udeze, has directed our team of lawyers to do everything legally to vacate this judgment obtained by one Adekunle Rufai Omoaje, his agents and privies from the Federal High Court, Osogbo.”
“That it may interest Nigerians to note that the same Adekunle Rufai Omoaje, his agents and privies that ran to Federal High Court, Osogbo and fraudulently obtained the judgement in their favour, have a pending appeal at the Supreme Court, challenging one of the Court of Appeal judgements that recognises Barr. ((Chief) Kenneth Udeze’s leadership of the party in Appeal Number: SC/CV/162/2024, Between Adekunle Rufai Omoaje & ORS Vs Chief Uzewuru Nwachukwu, Kenneth Udeze, Action Alliance (AA) and INEC.
“Instead of Adekunle Rufai Omoaje, his agents and privies to wait for the final determination of their appeal pending at the Supreme Court in one way or the other, Adekunle Rufai Omoaje ran to Federal High Court Osogbo for forum shopping and secretly filed fresh suit against only INEC fraudulently using Action Alliance name as the 1st plaintiff without the consent and authority of the party national leadership and without joining Udeze led-NEC of the party and obtained this judgement from Federal High Court Osogbo against subsisting judgements of the Court of Appeal in favour of Udeze led-NEC of the party.”
It asked INEC not to recognise the judgment of the Federal High Court, Osogbo.
“That the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is hereby demanded by the national leadership of the Action Alliance (AA) not to give recognition to the judgment obtained by one Adekunle Rufai Omoaje, his agents and privies from the Federal High Court, Osogbo and continue recognition of Barr. (Chief) Kenneth Udeze led the national leadership of Action Alliance (AA) based on the various Court of Appeal judgements recognising the leadership.
“That the commission should, as a matter of urgent public importance, inform Adekunle Rufai Omoaje, his agents and privies to wait for their appeal at the Supreme Court and stop this forum shopping of favourable judgment from one Judicial Division of the Federal High Court to another.
“That the Honourable Chief Judge (CJ) of the Federal High Court should kindly direct the transfer of all Action Alliance-related matters pending at various Judicial Divisions of the Federal High Court, secretly filed by Adekunle Rufai Omoaje, his agents and privies to Abuja Judicial Division of the Federal High Court, where other Action Alliance-related matters filed by Adekunle Rufai Omoaje are pending, to avoid conflicting judgements and rulings by the same court.”
