Society Gists

A Benue state high court in Gboko dismissed a lawsuit seeking to overturn Iyorchia Ayu’s suspension as a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The presiding judge, D.M Igyuse, condemned the suit as a misuse of the legal process in his judgement on Thursday.

Nongo Ordue filed the case on behalf of the 17-member executive of Ayu’s Igyorov council ward of Gboko LGA.

Aside from requesting that the suspension be lifted, the plaintiff also requested that Ayu be reinstated as the PDP’s national chairperson.

However, Clement Mue, counsel to the PDP, submitted that the suit constituted an abuse of the court process.

Mue said a similar case filed before a high court in Makurdi had sufficiently addressed the issues raised by the plaintiff.

In the suit marked MHC/85/2023 cited by the PDP lawyer, Maurice Ikpambese, a high court judge, held that Ayu could no longer hold the office as the national chairman having lost his membership of the party at his ward.

Mue informed the court that Ayu had since filed an appeal against the decision which is yet to be determined.

He said hearing and determining the present suit would amount to sitting on an appeal against the earlier decision of the court.

In his judgment, Igyuse pointed out that the plaintiffs had filed a similar claim in a suit marked GHC/36/2023 between themselves as plaintiffs, including Ayu who was the 18th complainant.

The judge noted that the said suit was struck out by the high court 3, Gboko, on June 27.

Consequently, the judge dismissed the case, describing it as “the worst form of abuse of court process”.