ABUJA—THE Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Chief Akinlolu Olujimi (SAN) yesterday pleaded with Justice Jonah Adah of the Federal high court sitting in Abuja to grant him a short adjournment in a lawsuit by ten lawyers challenging the legitimacy of the 1999 constitution on accounts that he wanted to take his time to prosecute the matter personally.
His request was conveyed to court yesterday by a counsel in the Federal justice ministry on a day Anambra state government filed a preliminary objection to the hearing of the suit by the court.
Anambra State Attorney General, Chief Unneruka Udechukwu (SAN) who filed the objection was also not present in person in court. He had asked for a short adjournment in the case to enable him argue the objection. His request was conveyed to the court by counsel to the plaintiffs in the case, Chief Abayomi who said that the Anambra A-G discussed personally with him.
In the pending preliminary objection, Anambra State had asked the Federal high court hearing the case to strike it out because the suit did not contain any trial issues. Besides, Anambra told the court that the plaintiffs in the matter lacked the locus standi to institute the case even as it invited the court to decline jurisdiction since the plaintiffs lacked the legal right to bring the suit.
It further told the court that it could not make injunctive orders as prayed for by the plaintiffs. All the 36 states of the Federation were joined as defendants in the suit. Four states were represented in court yesterday. But other states were yet to appear.
Trial judge, Justice Stephen Adah before adjourning the matter at the instance of some of the defendants to July 21 directed the Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Chief Akinlolu Olujinmi SAN to produce in court at the next sitting, all the documents requested for by the plaintiffs. The judge renewed his order yesterday when a counsel from the justice ministry told the court that it was doubtful if a copy of the subpoena issued on her boss had been received.
Counsel to the ten lawyers, Mr Abayomi volunteered to give them a copy of the summons on him. The documents the AGF was ordered to produce included the instrument constituting the Provisional Ruling Council under the regime of General Abdusalami Abubakar, the instrument constituting the Constitutional Debate Co-ordinating Committee (CDCC) in November 1998, the report of the CDCC as well as the minutes of the considerations of the PRC on the CDCC report.
Besides, the minister was expected to produce in court the amendments made to the 1999 constitution by the PRC and the final approval of the PRC. Other documents the minister would produce at the next sitting of the court are all documents by way of speech, response and allied documents which were made at the CDCC’s inauguration, minutes and reports of all meetings of the Provisional Ruling Councils that amended the constitution for the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1979 between November 1998 and May 1999.
