A High Court sitting in Gboka, Benue State, on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed by Nongo Ordue on behalf of 17 members of Ayu’s Igyorov Council Ward of Gboko Gboko Local Government Area of Benue State.
The lawsuit sought to invalidate the suspension of the former National Chairman of the PDP, Ayu Igyorov from the party, and also his reinstation as the party National Chairman amongst other prayers before the court.
Replying the suit, the PDP Counsel, Clement Mue, argued that the judgment of the Makurdi High Court in Utaan vs Ayu, which was marked MHC/85/2023 had sufficiently addressed the issues raised in the present claim of the plaintiffs as well as the present suit was therefore caught up by a bar known in legal parlance as estoppel.
Mue said that Ayu had appealed the decision made by the court in the previous case at the Court of Appeal and argued that hearing and determining the suit would amount to sitting on an appeal against the earlier decision of the court.
He further asked the court to hold that the suit before it amounted to an abuse of court process.
Delivering Judgement on Thursday, Justice Igyuse pointed out that the plaintiffs already filed a similar case in another court (suit No. GHC/36/2023), with Ayu as one of the plaintiffs and the case was dismissed by the High Court 3, Gboko on June 27th, 2023 on the application of J.T Injua who told the court that the said claim had been filed by the present plaintiffs’ counsel, Nongo Ordue.
Justice Igyuse agreed with the submission of Barrister Mue and accordingly dismissed the suit, describing it as the worst form of abuse of court process.