Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected the request of Senator Samuel Anyanwu, the embattled National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to prevent the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from removing him from his position as Secretary of the party.
In his ruling, Justice Ekwo directed Anyanwu to notify INEC and other defendants in his case to appear in court so that their sides could be heard before making any decisions.
Senator Anyanwu had approached the court with an ex-parte application, asking the judge to stop INEC or its agents from accepting or acting on any correspondence or written submissions from the PDP unless they were signed by him.
He also sought an order to prevent Ambassador Umar Damagun from sending any correspondence, documents, or submissions to INEC unless signed by him.
After reviewing the application, Justice Ekwo agreed that the case was urgent but clarified that he would not grant the ex-parte order without hearing from the defendants. The judge instructed Anyanwu to serve INEC and Damagun with notice of the lawsuit, allowing them to respond in court.
The case has been scheduled for a hearing on February 24.
