Vacate Office Within 24 Hours - Court Orders 21 Kogi Council Chairmen

The Kogi State High Court sitting in Koto-Karfe has ordered the 21 local government chairmen in the state to vacate office within 24 hours of judgement.

Justice Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye in a judgement he delivered yesterday directed the state Attorney-General to comply with an earlier order handed down by the court.

The court had earlier nullified the election that brought the chairmen into office, over improper composition of the Kogi State Independent Electoral Commission (KOSIEC) and therefore declared its activities null and void.

Justice Omolaye-Ajileye had in his ruling ordered the local government chairmen to hand over to the most senior director in their respective councils with immediate effect.

The court in its latest ruling ruled that its December 8th judgement be complied with within the next 24 hours.

It reads, “In the circumstances of this case, I hereby direct the 2nd defendant, the Attorney-General of Kogi State and the Chief Law Officer of the state to ensure compliance with the orders of this court handed down in its judgement of Monday 8th day of December 2014 within 24 hours from now”.

Indications however emerged that sacked local government chairmen may have engaged the services of a team of lawyers, including a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) to challenge the court order.