Court order recognizing Usani as C'River APC guber candidate is impotent - Lawyer

Pastor Usani Uguru Usani, Minister of  Niger Delta Affairs

An Abuja based legal practitioner and social commentator, First Baba Isa Esq. has described as impotent the Abuja Federal High Court order restraining the Independent National Electoral Commission , INEC from publishing any name other than Pastor Usani Usani as the governorship candidate of APC in Cross River state.

Isa in a telephone conversation with Fearless Reports said that the order was impotent as it cannot impregnate any political development.

He maintained that the Appeal Court and Supreme court have ruled that an Order of Interlocutory Injunction cannot be granted to stop a party from doing what has already been done.

He said that "In line with my post on social media, I'm adopting the position of the court that an order of interlocutory injunction cannot be granted to stop what has already happened.

"An interlocutory injunction is not a remedy of an act which has already been carried out.

"The order is impotent as it can't impregnate any political development because Sen. Owan Enoh's name has already been published by INEC as the governorship candidate of APC in Cross River State".

He cited the Court of Appeal ruling in the case of FRANCIS MORGAN UDO V. INCORPORATED TRUSTEES OF CHRISTIAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH (2008) LPELR-8548(CA).

The court stated that "It is the law that when a court is asked to restrain a party from doing an act pending the decision in a matter before it, but the act has been done, no order to restrain will be made. This is so because what is sought to be prevented had happened. In other words an interlocutory injunction is not a remedy of an act which has already been carried out, and will not be granted where the act complained of is irregular." Per ORJI-ABADUA, J.C.A".

It will be recalled that Justice I.E. Ekwo of the Abuja Federal High Court yesterday granted an order of  interlocutory injunction restraining INEC from publishing any name except Usani as governorship candidate of APC in Cross River State.

INEC however published Owan Enoh's name yesterday evening as governorship candidate of the party in the state.