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Court Declines Default Judgement Application in Abuse of Local Government and Illegal Sack of Elected Officials Suit Against Benue Governor Fr Alia Adjourns to 19 January for Hearing
The court was not necessarily opposed to the application, but the learned trial judge has another pressing assignmentoverseeing the funeral arrangements of His Lordship,the Honourable MrJustice J SIkyegh (Justice of the Court of Appeal) who passed on recently. Notably also, the courts close for the holiday season after this week to resume by the second week of January 2024.
Today the Honourable Mr Justice Polycarp Kwahar of the Benue State High Court sitting in Makurdi declined ourapplication for default judgement in the matter of Sesugh Akume v Governor of Benue & 4 Others (MHC/346/2023)in which the respondents had filed no defence and were out of time to do so.
The respondents who for more than 5 weeks did not respond to court processes dulyserved on them, not even after a reminder letter, in utter desperation and a morbid fear of the default judgement, served on us their replies today—earlier slated for definite hearing/adoption of written notices—inside the courtroom, with some of the processes filed just this morning!
For this reason, the court declined our application for default judgement, and granted theirs,expanding the time to file their replies, and for their replies to be deemed ashaving been filed within time.Our application for costs (a fine payable by the respondents) for the delay and inconvenience was denied.
Our application moved by learned counsel,AtumeButu, Esq., for 48 hours to reply to not-less-than 6 different court processes served by the respondents today; to file and serve them them replies by tomorrow 12 December, and to be back in court on Wednesday 13 December for the hearing/adoption of all written notices, awaiting the judgement, due to the urgency of the matter, was also declined.
The court was not necessarily opposed to the application, but the learned trial judge has another pressing assignmentoverseeing the funeral arrangements of His Lordship,the Honourable MrJustice J SIkyegh (Justice of the Court of Appeal) who passed on recently. Notably also, the courts close for the holiday season after this week to resume by the second week of January 2024.
The matter was, therefore, adjourned to Thursday 19 January, when all replies who have been filed and exchanged, for definite hearing.
Sesugh Akume
Abuja
