Temporary reprieve came the way of embattled Governor Martin Elechi of Ebonyi State, Eastern Nigeria on Wednesday as an Abakaliki High Court presided over by Justice John Igboji, granted an interlocutory injunction stopping the Ebonyi State House of Assembly from going ahead with the impeachment of the governor.
The House had moved in favour of the impeachment last week, but nine members of the House later denied any involvement in the impeachment process and further accused their colleagues of doing the biddings of some political heavyweights in the state for some selfish reasons.
The court order was the result of an ex-parte motion brought by Governor Elechi against the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Chukwuma Nwazunku, the Chief Whip, Kingsley Ikoro on behalf of the other fourteen other members of the Assembly.
Joined in the suit are 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.
The motion filed by Chief G. Tagbo Ike on behalf of the plaintiff, wants 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 among others:
(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 fourth respondent from constituting the panel of seven persons to investigate the allegations of improprieties leveled against the applicant until the applicant is caused to be served pending the determination of the substantive application.
In his ruling after hearing Chief Tagbo Ike with Chioma Okoromba, counsel to the plaintiff, Justice Igboji ordered that the application be granted since the interim injunction restrains the first to the third respondents from 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.
The court further granted an injunction restraining the Chief Judge of the State, Justice Alloy Nwankwo, from constituting a panel of seven persons to investigate the allegation of improprieties levelled against the governor pending the determination of the substantive application.
The court ruled that “the fourth respondent is hereby restrained from constituting a panel of seven persons to investigate the allegation of improprieties leveled against the applicant pending the determination of substantive application,” and adjourned the matter to Tuesday, 10 March.
