Court Stops Ondo LG Poll, restrains ODIEC


There was wild jubilation in Akure the Ondo State capital on Thursday as an Akure High Court on Thursday restrained the Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) from conducting the scheduled December 15, 2007 local government election in Ondo State.

Justice Olarewaju Akeredolu gave the order while ruling on an application for an order of perpetual
injunction filed by all the Dayo Akinsoyinu and 9 others asking the court to  restrain  ODIEC from
conducting the election. The plaintiffs who are members of the opposition in the Ondoi State House of
Assembly consisting  of nine Labour Party (LP) members of the House of Assembly and the only Alliance for Democracy (AD) .

The plaintiffs had gone to court to challenge the purported nomination, appointment, confirmation and the consequently swearing in of Chief Elkanah Akintade and six others as Chairman and members of the ODIEC by Dr Olusegun Agagu insisting that they were all card carrying members of the PDP.

In a surprised ruling, Justice Akeredolu assumed jurisdiction in the matter and ruled out the objection
of Dr. Kayode Olatoke, Counsel to Agagu on his application saying that numbering of affidavits was not sufficient to dispose off an application. She added that defective and erroneous affidavit may be amended by leave of the court adding that the affidavit was duly filed as provided in Section 84 of
the Evidence Act.

According to her, grounds for consideration of an application for interlocutory injunction are that
claims are not frivolous, balance of convenience, maintenance of status quo, conduct of parties and
inadequacy of payment of damages. She therefore that there was a serious case to be tried and that the plaintiffs claims are thus not frivolous.“The conduct of the local government election is the
statutory function of ODIEC which affects everybody, public interest is therefore paramount in this case
while the balance of convenience favours the larger society,” she stated.

Akeredolu subsequently restrained the Chairman and members of the ODIEC from organizing, preparing for and conducting any local government election pursuant to ODIEC laws2003 pending the hearing and final determination of the substantive suit.

She also ordered the plaintiffs to enter an undertaking to pay damages if found at the final determination of the substantive suit to have wrongly obtained the injunction.

On the defendants’ objection that the plaintiffs lacked locus standi to institute the action and that the court equally lacks jurisdiction to hear the case,
Akeredolu stated that the issue of locus standi was fundamental to the case.

She posited that no person was  in a better position or moiré capabl;e of interpreting a legal position on
locus standi than the Supremem Court adding that the plaintiffs have capacity to institute the case as their status conferred sufficient rights on them to institute the action.

She equally concurred with the plaintiffs’ Counsel, Dr Olumide Ayeni, submission that the 1999 Constitution provided that judicial powers  shall extend to all matters between persons and the government and all actions and proceedings relating thereto for the determination of civil rights and obligations of that person.

The Plaintiffs had on August 29 this year dragged the Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Hon. Bakita Bello and 24 others to court for the breach of the Constitution, the Assembly’s Standing Order and the ODIEC Law 2003 and abuse of their positions, powers and discretion as well as unconstitutional, illegal and arbitrary exercise of mandate. They also prayed for the nullification of the purported appointment and inauguration of the ODIEC members, their purported confirmation by the Assembly and the halting of the sheduled local government election.

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