OMISORE looses another opportunity to clear his name in Court over Ige’s Murder.
Senator Iyiola Omisore, the PDP Governorship aspirant in Osun State has once again suffered another huge defeat at the Federal High Court Ibadan yesterday 17th June, 2014 in an attempt to clear his name and stigma attached to the murder of the former Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Chief Bola Ige when the court in a considered judgment dismissed his case for lack of merit in Suit No. FHC/IB/CS/51/2012.
By a writ of summons and statement of claim dated 27th May, 2013 and filed the same day, the Plaintiff (Senator Iyiola Omisore ) sued Oyo State Government; Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Oyo State and Inspector General of Police as 1st , 2nd and 3rd defendants respectively and claimed against the defendants for the following:
a) A DECLARATION that the prosecution of the Plaintiff by the 1st and 2nd Defendants in respect of the murder of Chief Bola Ige was done out of malice, same having not based on proof of evidence and extra judicial statements made by the prosecution witnesses.
b) N20,000,000,000.00(Twenty Billion Naira) only being general damages for unlawful arrest, detention, and malicious prosecution of the Plaintiff after being wrongly accused of murdering Chief Bola Ige, the then Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on or about 23rd December, 2001.
In response to the application, the 1st and 2nd Defendants filed a Notice of Preliminary Objection on 31st January, 2014 praying the court to dismiss or strike out the suit of the Plaintiff on the following grounds:
i) The Honourable Court lacks the requisite jurisdiction to entertain this action against the Defendants herein constituted.
ii) That the action of the claimant is statute barred as same was filed outside the three (3) months period within which the action can be commenced as required by Section 2(a) of the Public Officers Protection Act, Cap 379 Laws of the Federation, 2004.
iii) The Plaintiff action was brought clearly outside the period prescribed by Section 18 of the Limitation Laws Cap 76, vol.III Laws of Oyo State of Nigeria.
The 3rd Defendant (Inspector General of Police) also filed a Notice of preliminary objection on 17/2/2014 on the grounds that:
i) That the action is statute barred by reason of Section 2(a) of Public Officer Protection Act 2004;
ii) By reason that the writ was not issued and signed by a legal practitioner as required by Section 2(1) and 24 of Legal Practitioner Act 2004.
The 1st and 2nd Defendants/ Applicants formulated three issues for determination. They are:
a) Whether this Honourable Court is vested with the requisite jurisdiction to entertain this matter against the Defendants as presently constituted?
b) Whether this Honourable Court has the necessary jurisdiction over the Plaintiff’s action that was brought clearly outside the period stipulated by law or that is statute barred?
c) Whether the Plaintiff’s action was commenced within the period stipulated by Section 18 of the Limitation Law Cap 76 vol. III Laws of Oyo State of Nigeria, 2000?
In the determination of the application, the court adopted the first two issues formulated above. In respect of issue one, the court held that the 1st and 2nd Defendants/ Applicants are agents of the state Government and clearly outside the jurisdiction of the court as envisaged by Section 251(a) (d) of the 1999 constitution. The Court also held that the community reading of paragraphs 25 and 27(1) and (2) disclosed that the Plaintiff has no relief against the 3rd Defendant (IGP) but only brought him in so as to cloth the court with jurisdiction. Hence he is not a necessary party to the case. Thereafter the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the matter.
On issue two, the court held that the Plaintiff was discharge and acquitted on 25th June, 2004 and brought his action in May 2013, 9 years after the cause of action had arisen. Therefore, the action was caught by the statute of limitation. The Court therefore dismissed the Plaintiff’s action.