Osun West By-Election: Court Halts Plan to Stop Hussein from Contesting

An attempt to prevent Senator Mudashir Hussain from participating in the July 8, 2017 Senatorial bye-election was thwarted at the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo on Tuesday as the matter was adjourned to October 3^rd for hearing.

The plaintiffs, Pastor Olatunji Popoola, Mr. Tajudeen Adekunmi and Bahiru Abisoye Adigun had dragged Senator Hussain, the All Progressive Congress (APC), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and others to the Federal High Court, with allegation that his nomination violated the provision of Section 66(f) of the 1999 Constitution.

When the case came up for hearing on Tuesday, Counsel to the Plaintiffs, Mr Wole Jimi-Bada told the court that the originating summons had been served on only two out of the six defendants listed on the processes.

Justice Onyetenu asked Jimi-Bada how he wanted to proceed into the hearing of his application to restrain Senator Hussain when the other defendants had not been served with the processes.

Counsel to Hussain, Adewale Afolabi insisted that until the other defendant have been served with the court processes, the suit could not proceed.

The development forced Jimi-Bada to ask the court to step down the case for him to go and file a motion ex-parte at the registry of the Federal High Court for hearing, and the request was granted.

When the matter resumed for hearing, Afolabi again objected to the motion ex-parte, arguing that it bothered on the substance and merit of the substantive issues raised in the originating summons filed by the plaintiff.

Unless the other defendants were put on notice through competent service of court process, Afolabi maintained that hearing the motion ex-parte would deny the defendants their right to fair hearing.

Jimi-Bda consequently withdrew the ex-parte application while the earlier application seeking to prevent Senator Hussain from contesting the July 8, 2017 senatorial by-election was adjourned to October 3, 2017.