Court blames INEC for crisis in AA, dismisses Udeze’s application to join suit

From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure

Justice Funmilola Demi-Ajayi of the Federal High Court, Osogbo has blamed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the crisis rocking the Action Alliance (AA).

Ruling on an application filed by Mr Kenneth Udeze, who is seeking to be joined in a suit instituted by the national chairman of AA, Adekunle Rufai Omoaje against INEC, Justice Demi-Ajayi said INEC was supposed to be an unbiased umpire without interest in any party.

She said INEC had failed to keep proper record of its activities against the expectations of the society, saying the inability of the commission to keep proper record was giving the court problems.

While blaming INEC for the crisis in Action Alliance, Justice Demi-Ajayi said INEC’s actions were capable of confusing the court as it failed to produce proper records of its activities.

She lamented the long legal tussle in the party, stressing that INEC, being the supervisory body for the political party, failed in its bid to provide necessary details that will guide the court.

Ruling on the application for joinder filed by Udeze, the court dismissed the application in its entirety, declaring that it was lacking in merit.

Also, the court awarded #100,000 against the applicant.

Justice Demi-Ajayi held that the right of relief against the person to be joined must be tendered by the plaintiff seeking to be joined.

She said the applicant failed to present a multiplicity of actions in his application, which are supposed to be presented to the court.

The court insisted that it was the prerogative of the plaintiff to determine the defendants in the suit, stressing that parties seeking to be joined were mere meddlesome interlopers. While discountenancing the application, the court ruled that the party being sought to be joined were not necessary or essential for the suit, saying that they were not proper parties. Also, the court held that the applicants failed to prove that joining them in the suit would validate the matter, declaring that, “the court finds no good reason to join the party seeking to be joined in the suit.”