Mr. Inibehe Effiong, a Lagos-based legal practitioner and human rights activist led a team of lawyers which also included Mr. Augustine Asuquo and Bassey Ibok Esq. for the Applicant, Dr. Udo. Effiong on Friday, November 10 2017 informed the court when the case came up for hearing that although the 1st Respondent, Mr. Luke, was duly served by the bailiff of the court of their processes on the 30th of October, 2017 the Speaker had failed to file and serve his defence to the suit on them as required by the Rules. Mr. Ekemini Udim, a legal practitioner who led a team of lawyers for the Speaker which included Mr. Ini Ememobong who is also the publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State, informed the court that they have been unable to file their processes because the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly has been very busy in the last one week. He further informed the court that a member of their legal team and the counsel to the 2nd and 3rd Respondents, Mr. Courage Noguese and the State Security Service, respectively, were at the registry of the court at the time to file their processes. Mr. Udim pleaded with the court for the case to be stood down for one hour to enable them serve their processes on the Applicant’s counsel. In his reply, Mr. Inibehe Effiong submitted that it is the duty of a litigant to wait for the court and not for the court to wait for a litigant. He insisted that the business of the court is a serious business and that it was not tenable for the counsel to the speaker to say that the Mr. Luke could not file his defence because the House of Assembly has been busy. Effiong also argued that the House of Assembly was not a party to the case. On the application by Mr. Udim for the case to be stood down for one hour, Effiong submitted that granting the application will only amount to wasting the precious time of the court as he will have to study the processes of the Respondents and possibly file his reply. He therefore prayed the court to rather adjourn the case to another date and indicated his interest to ask for cost from the Respondents for filing their processes late. In his ruling, the presiding judge, Justice F.O. Riman agreed with Effiong that it was better for the case to be adjourned since the Applicant is entitled to respond to the processes filed by the Respondents. The Judge however stated that the application for cost against the Respondents for filing their processes late will only be considered when the Respondents seeks to move their motion for extension of time to file their processes. It would be recalled that Dr. Udo had sued the speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Onofiok Luke, an SSS officer attached to him, Courage Noguese, the State Security Service, the Commissioner of Police, Akwa Ibom State and the Inspector General of Police over the attack on him along the Obot Idim Ibesikpo road, in Akwa Ibom State for violating his fundamental rights to the dignity of the human person, freedom of movement and freedom from discrimination. The medical practitioner had accused the speaker and security escorts attached to his convoy of beating him to coma for not vacating the road for the speaker on the 25th of June, 2016 even when the road was blocked by a group of mourners who were said to be protesting the sudden death of a promising footballer. The case has been adjourned to Wednesday, 15th November, 2017 for hearing.]]>

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