A Federal High Court in Osogbo, Osun State presided over by Justice Funmilola Demi-Ajayi on Thursday castigated the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the lingering crisis in the Action Alliance (AA), accusing it of failure to present to the court proper records in the case.
Ruling on an application brought before her by Mr. Kenneth Udeze, seeking to be joined in a suit instituted by the national chairman of AA, Adekunle Rufai Omoaje against INEC, Justice Demi-Ajayi noted that INEC was supposed to be an unbiased umpire without interest in any party.
She lamented that INEC had failed to keep proper record of its activities against the expectations of the society which she said was giving the court problems.
Taking a swipe at INEC for the crisis in the AA, Justice Demi-Ajayi posited that 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 would guide the court.
On Udeze’s application for joinder, the court dismissed it in its entirety for lacking in merit and awarded N100,000 against him.
According to Justice Demi-Ajayi, the right of relief against the person to be joined must be tendered by the plaintiff seeking to be joined, adding that the applicant failed to present a multiplicity of actions in his application which were supposed to be presented to the court.
Emphasising that it was the prerogative of the plaintiff to determine the defendants in the suit, the court declared that parties seeking to be joined were mere meddlesome interlopers.
While therefore dismissing the application, Justice Demi-Ajayi ruled that the party being sought to be joined were not necessary or essential for the suit, and as such, were not proper parties.
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.”
