An Adamawa State High Court has dismissed an application filed by the state House of Assembly to challenge its jurisdiction to entertain the case filed by Governor Murtala Nyako.
Nyako had earlier obtained an injunction to stop the assembly from going ahead with the impeachment process against him and his deputy.
In his ruling, the acting Chief Judge of the state, Justice Ambrose Mammadi, said the application on whether his court had the jurisdiction to entertain the suit brought before him by Nyako was misplaced.
The judge affirmed that his court had jurisdiction to entertain the suit and therefore dismissed the assembly’s application and adjourned further proceedings to July 9. The state High Court had earlier restrained the lawmakers from taking any decision pending the determination of the suit filed by the governor.
After the ruling, counsel to the governor, Ayo Akam, expressed happiness with the ruling, saying: “I am comfortable; my joy is that the court did not say it has no jurisdiction to entertain the case. The matter is still pending before the court, I am okay with it.
“The action taken by the House of Assembly as at yesterday, I have made it clear, is a violation of the court order.”
It was not clear, however, whether the state acting chief judge had received any correspondence from the lawmakers to constitute a seven-man panel or not as the Chief Registrar of the court, Alhaji Abubakar Babayola, denied any communication.
“As I am talking to you now, we are yet to receive their correspondence, and if there is any, we would communicate to you,’’ he said.
But when contacted on phone, the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the state assembly, Mr. Solomon Kumangar, said: “The clerk has since communicated the matter and it was received at the chamber of the acting Chief Judge before closing hours.”
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