…Prosecution To Serve Defendants
A court has granted the request of the prosecution to amend the suit filed by former acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission.
The court also directed that the prosecution should within seven days serve the defendants with the motion for amendment and for the defendants to reply within fourteen days.
The presiding judge of the Port-Harcourt High Court, Honourable Justice E. N. Thompson, declared this during sitting on Thursday, 13 August.
At an earlier sitting, the court had granted the request of the counsel to police, Gladys Imegu, for time to study court processes served on her before she would decide whether or not to oppose a motion for amendment by prosecution.
J. A. Aaron, counsel for the former acting managing director had told the court that he was having a motion for amendment but the police counsel said that she needed time to study the court processes before she would decide whether or not to oppose the motion.
On Thursday, the court granted the prosecuting counsel, Sylvester Adaka, seven days within which to serve the defendants with the motion while the defendants had fourteen days to reply.
The judge also ordered that the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) should pass on the court processes to the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio.
The former acting managing director of Niger Delta Development Commission, Joi Nunieh, had filed legal action against Senator Godswill Akpabio, the Nigeria Police Force, Inspector-General of Police, the Commissioner of Police in Rivers State and Department of State Services after policemen allegedly attempted to whisk her away from her residence.
She had earlier got a court order restraining the police from arresting her.
Nunieh told newsmen that she had called the governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, for help who later arrived at her residence and rescued her.
The former acting managing director of the interventionist agency said: “Senator Magnus Abe called me after a while that the CP in Rivers State did not really know about it and that the CP was going to reach me. The CP did reach me and said he was not aware of what was going on. The CP asked that I send him my address and which I did and then I saw the cars come in. So I asked if that was the CP and they said no.
“Fortunately, I was just wise enough. I stayed by the door and they wanted to drag me. So, I just banged the door so they can’t come in. I left to call my governor and he said I should not go anywhere that he was on his way”.
But police image-maker in the state, Nnamdi Omoni, had said that the Command was aware of the operation.
He said that the police wanted to arrest the former acting managing director based on petition which was not related to issues surrounding the interventionist agency.
