The Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Munta Abimbola, on Monday, at the Oyo State High Court sitting at Ring Road, Ibadan, restrained the immediate past governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, and the present state government from going or visiting a landed property belonging to the former governor which the current administration revoked from him pending the determination of interlocutory injunction filed before the court.
According to the Nigerian Tribune, the court gave the order following the inability of the court to hear a Motion on Notice for interlocutory injunction filed by Kazeem Gbadamosi, the legal counsel to Senator Ajimobi, due to the failure of the counsel to the Oyo State Government, Mr. Nathaniel Oke, to respond to the motion on time.
At the resumed hearing of the matter before Court 1, on Monday, the counsel to the state government filed a motion seeking for the extension of time to respond to the application filed by Senator Ajimobi.
Counsel to Senator Ajimobi raised no objection to the motion for extension of time but however asked the court to order that status quo be maintained on the land, adding that status quo as at February 13 when he filed the motion was that the land belonged to the former governor.
This submission did not go well with the counsel to the state government who argued that the status quo as at the time the application was filed was the revocation of the land which he stated was revoked on February 10 while the dormer governor’s application was filed on February 13.
Justice Abimbola in his bench ruling on the matter ordered counsel to advise their clients not go to or take any action on the said land pending the determination of the pending motion.
The court further ordered the counsel to the state government to file the defense within 10 days and that the petitioner must respond within seven days of being served the response.
Justice Abimbola adjourned the matter till March 30 for all parties to file all the necessary papers before the court.
