Court rules Tuesday on alleged contempt charge against FCT minister

[TGD]

AN Abuja High Court would Tuesday deliver its verdict on an application filed by a property owner, seeking to commit the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed and three others to prison for allegedly flouting its order.

The others facing the contempt charge include former Director of Land in the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Mrs. Altine Jibrin, Mrs. Ene Dakoru and  Alhaji Yahaya Musa, who are judgment debtors and respondents. FCDA is also listed a respondent.

The minister and his co-respondents are said to be in contempt of court having allegedly demolished a multi-million naira hospital premises without deference to a subsisting court decision, which had ordered the contrary.

However, Mohammed has prayed the court to strike out the application for contempt on the contention that he was not properly served with the court summon on the contempt charge

The minister through his counsel Chidi Agashiese told the trial Judge, Justice Danlami Senchi that the contempt charge was served on him through a substituted service involving a newspaper publication as against the personal service required by law.

Agashiese pointed out that contempt proceeding be of a quasi-criminal nature out to be served personally on the minister, submitting that anything short of that standard requirement was improper and therefore incompetent to be considered by the court.

He argued that they got to know about the bid to get the minister jailed for contempt on April 13, 2013 when their attention was drawn to the advertised notice of committal to prison, insisting that the process of service was faulty and the charge be struck out.

However, Chief Ogwu Onoja (SAN), counsel to Asher Hospital and Maternity Ltd prayed the court to dismiss the minister's claim and commit him to prison for contempt.

Onoja submitted that since the substituted service was carried out on the minister through a valid court order issued by the High Court upon the conviction that Mohammed and others were deliberately evading service it was "proper and valid."

He drew the court's attention to how the High Court judgment was being treated with "levity" and prayed Justice Senchi to safeguard and protect the sanctity of the judiciary by striking out the minister's  objection to the contempt charge.

He said the minister's objection was baseless, frivolous because the minister did not first ask the court to vacate the substituted service.

Upon the conclusion of their arguments, Justice Senchi  fixed today to rule on whether or not to sustain the contempt charge against the minister and other respondents.

The Guardian