A Federal High Court, Abuja has struck out two separate motions on notice for stay of execution of judgments barring Mr Kabiru Ibrahim from parading himself as president of the All Farmers’ Association of Nigeria (AFAN).
Justice James Omotosho, in a short ruling, struck out the motions after Sunday Oluwole, counsel for Ibrahim, applied to withdraw the applications which were not opposed to by lawyer to the plaintiff/respondent, Modibbo Bakari.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo had, on March 24 judgment, restrained Mr Ibrahim from parading himself as president of AFAN.
The judge also declared the election held on April 10, 2021 by AFAN General Assembly in Kano which produced Mr Farouk Mudi and members of its National Working Committee (NWC) and National Executive Council (NEC) as valid.
Taiwo, therefore, ordered Ibrahim, the embattled president, whose tenure, he held, had expired since June 14, 2019, to hand over the assets and property of the association in his possession and custody.
Ibrahim and Mudi had locked horns in a legal battle over the leadership position of the farmers’ association.
While Ibrahim filed the first suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/329/2020 to drag Mudi to court, Mudi, on his part, sued Ibrahim in a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/322/2020.
Delivering judgment in the first suit between Incorporated Trustees of All Farmers Association, Ibrahim and Rev. Tobias Iwu Vs. Admiral Murtala Nyako and Farouk Mudi, the judge said that the defendants contended that Ibrahim’s tenure as AFAN president had expired after his five-year single term as stipulated by their constitution.
Taiwo aligned with the arguments of the defendants that Ibrahim, who became president on June 14, 2014, ought to have vacated office on June 14, 2019.
This, the judge held, is in accordance with the provision of Article 13 (1) of AFAN Constitution since there was no provision for tenure elongation in the body.
Also delivering judgment in the second suit between AFAN Vs. Ibrahim and his led dissolved NWC and NEC of AFAN (1st defendant) and Inspector-General of Police (2nd defendant) filed by Mudi, the judge also agreed with the plaintiff that Ibrahim (1st defendant)’s tenure had expired.
He said the substantive matter was whether Ibrahim was still the president.
He said that he had read the constitution of the association which says the tenure of its elected officers shall be for five years tenure.
The judge consequently granted Mudi’s reliefs.
Taiwo, however, struck out the name of the I-G from the suit, the plaintiffs, having failed to establish a cause of action against him to have been joined as a necessary party.
But Ibrahim, unsatisfied with the judgements, filed two separate motions for stay of execution before the court.
The motions, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/329/2020 and FHC/ABJ/CS/322/2020, were dated and filed on March 29.
The applications sought an order for stay of execution of the judgments delivered by the court on March 24.
Justice Taiwo had, before his retirement in July, declined to hear Ibrahim’s motions on the ground that the matter had already been dispensed with.
Upon resumed hearing in the matter on Oct. 14, counsel for the parties told Justice Omotosho the report about the motions.
And Oluwole,who appeared for the applicants, applied to withdraw the motion and Bakari did not oppose it.
The judge consequently struck out the motions for stay of execution.
Mudi, through AFAN, had sued Mr Ibrahim and his dissolved NWC over alleged refusal to hand over association’s assets and property.
In the originating summon filed by Bakari, Mudi asked the court to stop Kabiru Ibrahim-led NWC from parading themselves as executive members of the association.
