Justice Steven Adah of a Federal High Court sitting in Ikeja on Monday gave an interim order suspending the renaming of the University of Lagos to Moshood Abiola University, Lagos, adding that the status quo should be maintained throughout the hearing of all suits challenging the renaming of the university through a presidential broadcast.
The court’s order followed requests by the counsel representing the plaintiffs in the two suits, Mr Afolabi Fashanu (SAN), who urged the court to give “an interim order” to maintain the status quo, saying the application for the order was urgent because the Federal Government was “desperate” to give effect to the presidential pronouncement.
Some students of the school and the alumni association of the institution had filed suits separately challenging the propriety of renaming the university through a broadcast by President Goodluck Jonathan. Justice Adah had given the same order in the two suits separately but also ordered that the two suits be harmonised.
The judge had ordered that no action should be taken to jeopardise this res (subject matter of the suit) pending the hearing and determination of the suit,” he said.
During the hearing, the two counsels for the defence, representing the University of Lagos and the Council of the University of Lagos, Professor Taiwo Osipitan, SAN, and the other representing the Senate of the University of Lagos, Mrs Titi Akinlawon, SAN, did not oppose the request of the order.
Other parties in the matter, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Muhammed Bello Adoke and the National Assembly — the fourth and fifth defendants in the suits, were not present at the proceedings, neither were they represented by any counsel, despite confirmation by the plaintiffs’ counsel that all parties in the suits had been duly served with the court process.
Also, both Osipitan and Akinlawon had not filed any defence before the court and they told the court that this was as a result of their recent briefing on the matter.
The respondents in the two suits were the University of Lagos, the council of the University of Lagos, the senate of the University of Lagos, Adoke and the National Assembly.
Suing on behalf of the alumni association were the national president and secretary of the alumni association of the university, Professor Olayide Abass and Femi Olatunji respectively and they were asking the court for nine reliefs, as those contained in the one filed by the students.
Also, seven students — Ogunmola Olajide, Olawaye Elijah, Boatman Enieke-nemi, Mathias Abraham, Asimiyu Ayodeji, Banjo Omojomi and Balogun Ismalia — were suing on behalf of the entire students of the university.
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The plaintiffs asked the court for a determination of six questions and were seeking for a declaration of court that “the pronouncement of President Goodluck Jonathan in his national broadcast of May 29, 2012 to the effect that the University of Lagos is renamed by the Federal Government of Nigeria as Moshood Abiola University, Lagos is unconstitutional, illegal, null and void and of no effect whatsoever and howsoever.”
Also, they were seeking an order of injunction, restraining the Federal Government, represented by the fourth defendant, the Attorney-General of the Federation, either by itself or acting through any of its agencies, organs, person or persons howsoever, from renaming or changing the name of the University of Lagos with the name Moshood Abiola University, pursuant to the national broadcast of the president on May 29 and/or giving effect in any manner whatsoever to the said broadcast.
Source: Ascology
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