NEWS: Assassins are after my lawyer – Suspended PDP chairman

Suspended Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party, Bayelsa State chapter, Col. Sam Inokoba (retd.), has told the State High Court that strange persons suspected to be hired assassins are trailing his lead counsel, Chief Sylvanus Abila.

Inokoba, who said his lawyer was being trailed day and night, stated that the development started since he (Abila) began to handle the suit challenging the decision of the PDP to expel nine leaders of the party in the state.

The embattled Inokoba, while speaking during the court’s session presided over by the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Kate Abiri, said his counsel “now receives strange phone calls asides being trailed by certain unknown faces within Yenagoa.”

Inokoba said Abila, who was engaged to carry out his legitimate duty as a legal practitioner, should not be intimidated for any reason in the course of the various court proceedings instituted to regain his mandate as the authentic and elected State Chairman of the PDP.

At the hearing, a fresh substantive suit challenging the appointment of Chief Serena Dokubo-Spiff as Acting State Chairman of the PDP was filed before the court.

In the originating summons filed by Abila, lead counsel for Inokoba, the plaintiff was asking the court to nullify the appointment of an Acting Chairman as he said it was contrary to the relevant sections of the PDP’s constitution.

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There are two substantive cases before the court in the suit numbers YHC/86/2015 filed on the June 15, 2015 and YHC/80/2015 filed on June 8, 2015. These cases were filed after an earlier one was withdrawn.

In the new suits, the plaintiff prayed the court to declare the action of the PDP Disciplinary Committee headed by Mr.Cleopas Moses null and void for contravening the party’s constitution.

Inokoba is also seeking an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the 1st to 10th defendants which included Governor Seriake Dickson and Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Kemasuode Wodu, from taking any further investigation of alleged misconduct against him pending the determination of the substantive suits.

In the suit number YHC/80/2015, the defendants are Governor Seriake Dickson as 1st defendant, Attorney-General as 2nd defendant and Chief Serena Dokubo-Spiff as 3rd defendant.

In the suit, the plaintiff asked the court to determine whether Chief Dokubo-Spiff could hold the office of Acting State PDP Chairman while at the same time serving as a Commissioner in the Bayelsa State Judicial Commission.

Inokoba said as the duly elected State Chairman of the PDP, he was also seeking an order restraining Dokubo-Spiff from parading himself as the Acting State Chairman of the PDP in Bayelsa State.

In this suit, both the Governor and the Attorney-General had been duly served by the court baillif but Chief Dokubo-Spiff had reportedly been evading service.

To be able to get Chief Dokubo-Spiff served, Abila has filed an ex parte motion to use substituted service by pasting the court processes at the entrance to the PDP Secretariat along Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha Road in Yenagoa.

Abila restated that it would be a disrespect to the judicial system and abuse for Chief Dokubo-Spiff or anyone to continue to refer to him as Acting Chairman of the party when a substantive case challenging that position was before a law court.