NANS leadership tussle: Court issues restraining orders

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has granted an order of ex parte injunction restraining a group in the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, from declaring themselves factional leadership of the body pending the determination of a suit brought before it.

Justice O. A. Musa gave the order in a suit brought before the court by Lucky Emonefe and Babatunde Akinteye suing for themselves and on behalf of the elected executives of NANS.

The plaintiffs, through their counsel, Messr C.N. Ayo, had dragged Pedro Chibuzo and Ekundinu Segun Elvis to court over the fallouts from the recent elections of new leaders of the student body.

In the suit number FCT/HC/CV/576/2023, and through motion number FCT/HC/M/1920/2023, the applicants had sought some reliefs from the court.

The orders sought are: An order of ex parte for injunction restraining the defendants from causing the plaintiffs irreparable damage and restraining the defendants either by themselves, agents, privies, cohorts, servants, assigns by whatsoever name from further declaring factional leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students pending the determination of the substantive suit.

An order of ex parte injunction mandating the defendants by themselves, agents, privies, servants to keep peace, be civil and decorous during the conduct of the case and refrain from any attack or abuse of the plaintiffs rights as the lawful elected leaders of the National Association of Nigerian Students.

And for such further order or orders as the court may deem fit to make in the circumstances.

After listening to the Messr Ayo, the court granted the two orders and added a third one which mandates the parties to keep the peace and maintain the status quo pending the hearing of the substantive suit.

Justice Musa later returned the case file to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court for the matter to be reassigned