NNPC’s failure to file counter affidavit halts Ararume’s N100bn suit against Buhari

The failure of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) to file a counter-affidavit to a N100 billion suit instituted against President Muhammadu Buhari by Senator Ifeanyi Ararume has again halted hearing in the suit.

Ararume had last year at the Federal High Court in Abuja slammed the suit on Buhari to challenge his alleged unlawful removal as Chairman of the Board of NNPC after using his name to register the entity with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

At Wednesday’s proceedings billed for a definite hearing of the suit, counsel to NNPC, Mr Etigwe Uwa, SAN, informed the court that he had only filed a preliminary objection against the hearing of the suit.

Contrary to the order of Justice Inyang Ekwo made on December 15 last year, the senior lawyer said he had not filed a counter affidavit to the substantive suit of the plaintiff.

Uwa thereafter asked the Judge to proceed with the hearing of his preliminary objection and determine it one way or the other before coming back to the substantive matter.

Justice Ekwo, however, drew Uwa’s attention to the Practice Direction of the Federal High Court to the effect that both the substantive matter and any preliminary objection must be taken together to save the judicial time of the court.

The Judge stood his ground that he would not proceed with the hearing of the preliminary objection alone until a counter affidavit to the main suit has been filed in compliance with the order of the Court.

Earlier, Ararume’s lawyer, Chris Uche, had drawn the attention of the Judge to his December last year order that all processes must be filed and exchanged by parties before Wednesday’s proceedings.

He, therefore, urged the court to proceed to hear the main suit as agreed upon by parties during last December proceedings