Justice Inyang Ekwo has fixed December 13 for continuation of hearing in a legal battle instituted by 36 states against the federal government to challenge the bid to deduct a sum of $418 million dollars from their bank accounts.
The federal government plans to deduct the sum through the office of the Attorney General of the Federation AGF and Minister of Justice to pay contractors who allegedly worked for the state governments in the Paris club refund.
At Wednesday’s proceeding, Justice Ekwo permitted the Plaintiffs, (36 states) to regularize their processes that were filled out of time.
The court also granted permission for substituted service on some of the defendants who have allegedly refused to accept court processes/papers.
The motion for regularisation and for substituted service granted by the judge was argued by Mr Jibrin Okutepa SAN on behalf of the states.
Drama however ensued when the judge was about to adjourn the matter as some of the defendants made desperate efforts to argue their motions praying the court to discharge the order of interlocutory injunction granted in favour of the states against the deduction of the money by the federal government.
Counsel to two of the defendants Chief Wole Olanipekun and Olusola Oke, battled spiritedly through oral applications for the court to discharge the order of injunction.
They argued that by the practice direction of the court, the order of injunction ought to last for 14 days and that it should be deemed as expired and no longer in existence.
However, counsel to the states , Okutepa read out the order in the open court and submitted that until the motion for interlocutory injunction is decided, the interim order shall be in force and binding on all parties.
Justice Iyang counseled parties in the matter to tread softly adding that the matter will be diligently determined.
The judge thereafter fixed December 13 for the court to attend to all pending applications and ordered that fresh hearing notice must be served on the parties.
Mr Onyeka Nwokolo SAN who stood for Ned Woko and Linas International Ltd., and spoke with journalists later, expressed disgust over the way and manner the Paris club refund was being politicised and used to blackmail some of the defendants.
According to him, the states legitimately of their own volition, issued Power of Attorney to some of the defendants to pursue the Paris Club refund, with a condition that 10 percent of the recovered money will be paid insisting that the Power of Attorney is binding on the parties.
Nwokolo urged the plaintiffs to be honourable in implementing the contractual terms rather than foot-drag.
The senior lawyer revealed that a subsisting judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction has ordered the payment of the money to the contractors after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC had thrice investigated and confirmed the authenticity of the contract.
Justice Ekwo had on November 5 stopped the federal government from going ahead to deduct the $418 million dollars from the bank account of the 36 states governments
The Judge had issued a restraining order against the federal government following an exparte application argued by counsel to the 36 states Messrs Jibrin Otukepa and Ahmed Raji.
Defendants in the suit are the Attorney General of the Federation AGF, Finance Minister, Accountant General of the Federation and all banks in Nigera among others.