A Federal High Court in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State has awarded N100 million in damages against the embattled National Vice-Chairperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) South-east, Ali Odefa.
The lawsuits
The court delivered the judgment in consolidated fundamental rights suits filed by some members of the PDP in Oguduokwor Ward in Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.
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Herbert Onyedikachi and four other PDP members filed the suit, seeking the enforcement of their fundamental human rights over their being hounded by the police, which they claimed was instigated by Mr Odefa.
In a petition to the police, Mr Odefa accused the PDP members in the Oguduokwor Ward of forging documents, which they used to suspend him as the national vice-chairperson of PDP South-east.
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However, the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) later nullified Mr Odefa’s suspension as PDP national vice-chairperson for the South-east.
Apart from the suit filed by Mr Onyedikachi and four others, Sabastine Idenyi and 13 others, a group of PDP members, filed a similar suit against Mr Odefa and two others.
In the second suit, Mr Odefa, the commissioner of police in Ebonyi State, and the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, were listed as respondents.
In the suit, the applicants, some of whom included those remanded last year, prayed the court to enforce their fundamental rights pursuant to Order two of the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009 and Sections 35 and 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
The applicants, through their lead counsel, Mudiaga Ehrenede, sought seven reliefs from the court in the suit filed in October last year.
The applicants, for instance, sought a declaration that the threats, invitation, harassment and intimidation of the ward executives for “suspending” the national vice-chairperson South-east were unconstitutional and a violation of their fundamental human rights.
They also prayed for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from threatening, arresting, inviting or intimidating them for their roles in the now-nullified suspension of the Mr Odefa.
The judgement
Delivering judgement on Friday, Justice Hilary Oshomah held that Mr Odefa had “maliciously” used the police against the applicants by making criminal accusations against them in a civil-political matter.
The court expressed anger at Mr Odefa’s use of police to “maliciously harass and intimidate” the applicants in an attempt to prevent them from prosecuting the civil suit pertaining to his now-nullified suspension.
It ruled that the police’s involvement in the matter rendered it subjudice at the time of the police report.
Justice Oshomah held that Mr Odefa failed to prove that the PDP members forged documents to suspend him as a party member in his Oguduokwor Ward.
The court, therefore, issued an order restraining Mr Odefa and the police from harassing, arresting, or intimidating the applicants in any way regarding his now-nullified suspension from the PDP Oguduokwor Ward.
It awarded damages in the sum of N5 million to each of the 20 plaintiffs, totaling N100 million.
The court also awarded another N2 million as a cost for harassing and attempting to arrest them using the police.
“That N100 million is hereby awarded as general damages against Ali Odefa and N2 million as cost in favour of the applicants in these consolidated suits,” the judge ruled.
The court further ordered that the cost be paid within seven days of the judgement and that failure to pay would attract 10 per cent daily interest.
At the ruling, a member of the legal team of the Police Command in Ebonyi, Benson Emenike was in the court to represent the commissioner of police in the state.
Mr Odefa’s counsel was absent despite receiving earlier sitting notice from the court.
Background
Mr Odefa was first suspended from the party by Ward executives of his Oguduokwor Ward in Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State on 11 September 2024.
The Federal High Court in Abakaliki also upheld the initial suspension of Mr Odefa by the executives of his ward.
Mr Odefa wrote a petition to the police, accusing the ward executives of forging party documents and impersonating party ward executives.
Four party members were arrested, arraigned and remanded in prison custody in October over the matter.
Consequent to his earlier suspension, the Oguduokwor Ward Disciplinary Committee, after hearing the allegations against Mr Odefa, recommended his expulsion from the party.
Subsequently, on 12 December 2024, the executives of PDP Oguduokwor Ward announced Mr Odefa’s summary expulsion.
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Leaders of the PDP in Ebonyi State later wrote to the NWC announcing the nomination of the party’s Zonal Youth Leader, Chidiebere Egwu, to replace Mr Ali Odefa as the South-east vice-chairperson.
However, the PDP’s NWC later nullified Mr Odefa’s suspension, explaining that the action violated the party’s constitution.
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