. orders plaintiffs to pay each of the defendants N250,000 as damages
By CHUKS EKE
The Federal High Court, FHC sitting in Enugu, Enugu state, presided over by Justice M D. Buba has dismissed a suit filed by three aggrieved members of the University of Nigeria Alumni Association, UNAA, for lack of merit.
Justice Buba, herefore, awarded the sum of N250,000 cost to each of the defendants as damages against the plaintiffs.
The plaintiffs are Chief Mrs. Grace Ukaeje, former Aba Branch President of UNAA; Chief R.J.C. Arazu, former Enugu Branch President and, M.r Ben Juwe, former National Secretary of the alumni association.
The defendants are the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN Governing Council, Vice-Chancellorr, Prof Charles Igwe; Chairman of UNN Governing Council, Chief Michael Olorunfemi; incumbent National President of UNAA, Sir Ben Okoronkwo; Chief Nduka Eya representing the Committee of Past National President , CPNP of UNAA and the Minister of Education.
In a judgment he delivered at the end of the protracted legal tussle, last Friday, Justice Buba noted that he agreed with the submissions of Chris Ajugwe Esq., counsel to Ben Okoronkwo, the fourth defendant.
In the suit No. FHC/EN/CS/92/2020, the plaintiffs are challenging the election of Okoronkwo-led UNAA executive which took place on October 3, 2020, at UNN asking the court to dissolve the election because it was conducted by the first defendant, UNN Governing Council which they argued does not have the constitutional right to conduct an election for UNAA.
Counsel to the plaintiffs, Chief Okay Obikeze had contended that the statute law setting up UNN did not give its Governing Council the authority to act as an umpire to resolve the disputes in UNAA as the Council did by conducting the election.
Obikeze, therefore, urged the court to dissolve the incumbent executive officers of UNAA and in its stead, appoint Chief Nduka Eya representing the Council of Past National Presidents (CPNP) of the association as interim management committee of UNAA for a maximum of 18 months to oversee its affairs.
But in his submission, Dr. M. E. Ajogwu SAN, counsel to the first to third defendants (Governing Council, UNN V.C. and Chairman of Council ), stated that the suit is contentious and cannot be resolved by original motion and urged the court to order for pleadings to enable the suit to go to full trial where witnesses could be called to testify and be cross-examined.
On his part, Chris Ajugwe, counsel to Ben Okoronkwo, incumbent National President of UNAA (fourth defendant), agreed with Ajogwu SAN that the suit is hostile proceedings that cannot be resolved by affidavit evidence.
Ajugwe who is the incumbent National Legal Adviser to UNAA, further submitted that the suit was replete with fundamental vices and ought to be dismissed in its entirety.
He arguing that the instrument or document which the plaintiffs want the court to interpret and give judgment in their favor was that of the 2005 constitution of UNAA, whereas the extant, operative constitution was that of 2014. Ajugwe posited that based on that ground alone, the substratum on which the suit was based has collapsed.
He further contended that the affidavit in support of the originating summons deposed by the so-called litigation secretary of the Plaintiffs’ counsel was defective as she was incompetent to do so without disclosing her source of information as mandated by Section 115 of the Evidence Act 2011, quoting Edu Vs Coward to support his case.
