BREAKING: Austin Agada floors Alia again as court stops his removal as APC chairman

The Benue State High Court in Makurdi has extended the restraining order preventing the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from removing Comrade Austin Agada as the party’s Benue State chairman.

On August 21, 2024, the court initially granted an interim injunction halting the dissolution of the Benue State Working Committee (SWC) of the APC and adjourned the case to August 28, 2024, for a hearing on the motion for an interlocutory injunction.

When the case resumed on Wednesday, Yahaya D. Dangana SAN, leading a team of seven lawyers and assisted by the Hon. Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice and Public Order of the state, argued that they were within the timeframe to respond to the processes filed by Agada’s lawyer. Dangana also served a Notice of Preliminary Objection, claiming that no further proceedings should occur until this objection was addressed.

In response, M.T. Alyebo, representing Agada and the other applicants, argued that the filing of a preliminary objection should not prevent the court from exercising its authority to maintain the status quo. Alyebo urged the court to extend the earlier interim order.

Justice Igoche, after considering the arguments, ruled to extend the restraining order by another seven days. The court rejected Dangana’s claim that the order was served after the dissolution of the SWC, clarifying that the injunction was granted and served in the “morning,” while the dissolution occurred in the “evening.”

This extension continues to protect Comrade Austin Agada’s position as Benue State chairman of the APC while the legal proceedings are ongoing.