Tina Amanda
A High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has struck out the bail application before it, in the case filed by the State government against the Lawmaker representing Degema/Bonny Constituency, Farah Dagogo.
The case which was originally slated for hearing on the motion of bail application was stalled when the State Prosecution Counsel Chidi Ekeh, informed the court that the Claimant has filed the same application on the same subject matter at the Court of Appeal.
The State Prosecution submitted that the Defendant filing the same application in two different courts is a multiplication of action, which amounts to an abuse of the court process.
He further argued that the said motion which seeks relief for the bail application of Defendant is now abuse of the court process, so should be dismissed or struck out in its entirety.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN, Cosmos Enweluzo, Counsel representing Farah Dagogo, told the court that the application brought forward by the State Prosecution is a calculated effort to stall and distort the main motion of the day’s proceeding, which is hearing on the bail application of his client that is before the court since 12 May 2022.
The Defendant Counsel argued that the Prosecution Counsel can not come to a lower court to argue an application before an appeal court, noting that the prosecution should make such submission at the right court.
Justice Chiwendu Nwogu after listening to submissions of Counsel in the matter ruled that the lower court cannot take decisions in an application before a higher court, as it will amount to judicial rascality.
The Judge held that the judicial decision of the court is not binding by the court of appeal, adding that the appeal court should decide on the bail application of the Defendant and thereafter adjourned the case to 6, 7 and 8 June 2022, for commencement of trial on the matter.
In an interview with our correspondent, Counsel representing the State government, Chidi Ekeh, said if the court had gone ahead to hear the application, it would have affected the outcome of what the court of appeal would have done.
On his part, one of the Counsels representing Defendant, Emmanuel Rukari, said that unknown to them, someone who is not part of the Defendant Counsel team filed the said bail application at the appeal court, noting that the application before the Appeal Court never emanated from them.
According to him, the position of the law assuming there are two applications is to strike the latter one and not the first one as their application for bail has been pending since 12 May 2022, whereas the latter one was filed by the other lawyer they don’t know was filed on 27 May 2022.
He maintained that the court has acted in accordance with the law as they will also challenge that law.
