A High Court in Benue state has restrained the Sarwuan Tarka Varsity Alumni Association (JOSTUMAA) from conducting elections to pick members of its national executive committee.
The court gave an order of interim injunction stopping the alumni’s elective congress pending the determination of a suit filed before it by two members of JOSTUMAA, George Njoku and Patrick Agada, seeking an interpretation of the alumni’s constitution.
The defendants in the case are national president of JOSTUMMA, Akinloye Akande, and JOSTUMMA as an association.
In the matter brought before the court headed by Justice T. A. Akume, the plaintiffs are praying the court to interpret the rules and regulations governing the activities of the alumni association.
They want the court to determine whether or not the defendants can proceed to hold its election to select the association’s executive on May 14, 2022, while the substantive suit bordering on the tenure of members of the current executive members of the alumni is yet to elapse.
The plaintiffs who are members of the national executive committee (NEC) of the alumni are contending that it “amounts to a breach of their right to remain in office” pending when their tenure would expire.
After granting the order of interim injunction stopping the elective congress of the alumni association, the judge adjourned the case to Wednesday, May 18, 2022, for hearing of the motion, even as he fixed hearing of substantive suit for June 1, 2022.
The plaintiffs are arguing that the election scheduled to hold on May 14 “is unconstitutional because the current NEC of the association was elected on December 18, 2018.”
