An Akure High Court has dismissed the contempt charge and suit challenging the emergence of Mr Ebenezer Alabi as the Chairman of the Ondo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The suit, which finally settled the factional crisis rocking the state chapter of the PDP in favour of the occupant of the office, also threw into the dustbin of legal history the application seeking to convict the chairman of the party for contempt of court.
The President Judge, Justice C.E.T. Ajama, in his ruling, said both the writ of summons and contempt charge against the executive of the party were not properly filed before the court.
Pointedly, the court said the suit was dismissed on the ground that it was incompetent before the court, because the writ of summon was grossly defective, since it was not signed or disclosed the names of the parties to the suit.
Some members of the party led by Prof Olu Agbi, Chief Segun Adegoke and Senator Gbenga Ogunniya had wanted to wrest the leadership of the party from the establishment led by immediate past governor of the state, Dr Olusegun Agagu.
Through the suit filed by Alaka Abigail, Adetokunbo Micheal, Fanika Oluwasina and Akinyemi Rufus by their counsel, Mr Rotimi Olorunfemi, they had also sought to convict Alabi for parading himself in that capacity.
They predicated their application for contempt of court on the premise that a court of competent jurisdiction had stopped Alabi from parading himself as the chairman, pending the determination of the suit challenging his convention of the party that produced him and other members of the executive.
But Alabi, through his counsel, Mr Sola Oke, prayed the court to dismiss the application and the suit against the executive of the party.
Oke predicated his motion on the fact that the application was filed before the pre-trial conference, that the defendants have not been served with Form 48, that the orders allegedly breached by the defendants were not endorsed on the said form and that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the complaint.
Aside saying the motion amounted to abuse of court processes, Oke added that there was no valid writ of summons before the court.
After the exchange of addresses and reply on the point of law, the court held that before a court could convict anybody for contempt charge, he must be personally and properly served with the motion which the plaintiffs have not complied with.
Aside dismissing the contempt charge against the chairman, Justice Ajama also dismissed the writ of summons challenging the emergence of Alabi as Chairman of the party.
In dismissing the entire suit, the learned jurist said the failure to comply with Order 6, Rule 1 of the state High Court rules proved fatal to the hearing of the case and was accordingly dismissed.
The court, however, said he would not make order as to cost to promote peace as the litigants are members of the same political family.
The party’s spokesperson, Mr Wale Ozogoro, in his reaction, said the party at this juncture “wishes to extend hand of fellowship to all and sundry for a collaborative effort at moving our party forward”.
