Audu moves to amend statement of claims against Idris

Okey Muogbo, Abuja - 14.03.2008

A Federal High Court, Abuja, will on March 27 rule on whether to grant an application by former governor of Kogi State, Prince Abubakar Audu, to amend his statement of claims in the suit where he accused the immediate past governor of the state, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, of giving false information to INEC.

The judge, Justice Babs Kuewunmi, had earlier rejected Prince Audu's prayer to move his application for amendment of his statement of claims.

Counsel for Idris, Pius Akubo (SAN), had told the court that it would be neater and time saving to take his application first because it attacked the root of the suit brought against his client.

The suit is on whether Idris really attended a secondary school in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, as he claimed.

Mr Alex Izinyon, counsel for Audu, told newsmen that the secondary school which Idris claimed he attended was Kings College of Commerce and not Kings Commercial College as allegedly submitted by Idris, adding that the name of the school had never been changed.

He said one of the reasons to amend his statement of claims was to bring out the facts essential to the determination of the matter.

Audu went to the court to stop Idris from contesting the rerun of the Kogi governorship election slated for this month.

Idris, through his lawyer, Akubo, argued that the "purported disclaimer dated 12th September 2007 (from the principal of the school) was of dubious origin or pedigree."

Said Akubo, "In terms of syntax and grammar, the language in the so-called disclaimer is patently crude, discourteous and uncouth and indeed unexpected of any school principal worth that name against a public officer referred to as governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, therein, thus suggesting the disclaimer is a product of manipulation.

"The said disclaimer was itself disclaimed as a forgery vide press statement dated 27th September, 2007 issued by the principal of the school at the material time," he stated.