An Abakaliki High Court, on Wednesday granted an interlocutory injunction restraining the Ebonyi State House of Assembly from proceeding with any impeachment processes against the state governor, Mr. Martin Elechi.
The court presided over by Justice John Igboji ordered restrain until the determination of substantive matter before it.
The order followed an ex-parte motion brought by Governor Elechi against the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. Chukwuma Nwazunku, Chief Whip, Hon Kingsley Ikoro on behalf of fourteen other members of the Assembly and five others, seeking an interim restraining order against the first to the third respondents.
Also joined in the suit includes Ebonyi House of Assembly, the State Chief Judge, Commissioner of Police, Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice of Nigeria.
In the motion filed by Mr. Tagbo Ike on behalf of the plaintiff, Elechi, asked the court to grant him the order pursuant to order IV Rules 3 and 4 ©(IV) and (V); Order V rule 7(B) and (D) of fundamental rights (enforcement procedure) rules, 2009, praying the court for the following orders:
(A) An interim injunction restraining the 1st to 3rd respondents against the applicant without causing the applicant to be served with notice of impeachment pending the determination of the substantive application,
(B) An interim injunction restraining the 4th respondent from constituting the panel of seven persons to investigate the allegations of improprieties leveled against the applicant pending the determination of the substantive application.
In his ruling, after hearing counsels to the plaintiff, Justice Igboji granted the application, stressing that the interim injunction restrains “the 1st to the 3rd respondents from howsoever continuing with the impeachment proceeding against the applicant without causing the applicant to be served with notice of impeachment pending the determination of the substantive application”.
