The cases challenging the defection of the 25 Pro-Wike Rivers State Assembly Lawmakers from the People’s Democratic Party, PDP to the All Progressives Congress, APC, have been transferred to a new judge.
A report by Vanguard says the cases were transferred from Federal High Court 4, Port Harcourt, presided over by Justice Steven Dalyop Pam, to court two controlled by Justice E. O. Obele.
However, there was confusion yesterday among journalists covering the court proceedings and some of the lawyers in the matter as they got to the court, Friday morning, to discover that the cases have been transferred to a different court.
The lawyers and journalists who were stocked at court four could only realise that the matters have been moved when the notable Senior Advocates of Nigeria in the matter who had arrived the court premises could not be found in court four.
On approaching the court clerk after over an hour of resumption of court sitting, it was discovered that the matter was transferred Thursday to the new court.
This transfer came following a petition by a defendant in matter, Hon. Martins Amaewhule, to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Hon. Justice John Tsoho, demanding that the cases against him be transferred to another court.
The cases are one instituted by BOOT Party and others as plaintiffs in suit number FHC/PHC/269/2024 and another by Civil Society Organsiation in the state against Amaewhule and other, all on the defection of the defendants to the APC.
When the court had resumed on Monday for hearing, the court was confronted with a petition signed by Martin Amaewhule addressed to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Hon. Justice John Tsoho, seeking the case to be reassigned to another court.
The Presiding Judge, Justice Steven Dalyop Pam, who read the petition in the open court, had noted that the petitioner, Amaewhule, was praying the CJ of the High Court, to stop the hearing process following the petition.
When the petition was read, Counsel for the plaintiff, BOOT Party, Mr. Reuben Wanogho, had informed the court that the petition was aimed at arresting the ongoing case and urged the court to discountenance it.
But, Counsel for the 1st to 25th Defendants in the suit, Ferdinand Orbi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, denied knowledge of the petition by his client, prayed the court to adhere to the petition and stop further proceeding if the letter was addressed to the CJ of the court.
However, the presiding judge, Pam, noted that in the first instance the petitioner (Amaewhule) has no motion, counter affidavit before him and that he is not yet known in the case.
Pam in his ruling had noted that the petitioner has not copied his petition on the plaintiffs, noting the court would have no other option than discountenance the petition and move on with hearing of motions for joinder
