FCT High Court Grants Request as Personal Service Proves Difficult
ABUJA, NIGERIA — The legal battle between Tonye Cole, the former All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Rivers State, and Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), escalated today as a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court granted an order for substituted service on the Minister.
The ruling, delivered by Justice M.A. Hassan at the court sitting in Gwarinpa, Abuja, pertains to a massive $₦$40 billion defamation suit filed against Wike by Cole.
The Application for Substituted Service
The court’s decision was made on Tuesday following an ex parte application moved by Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), lead counsel to Tonye Cole.
Mr. Okutepa informed the court that his legal team had faced significant difficulty in effecting personal service of the court processes, including the originating summons, on the FCT Minister. Due to the high-profile nature and the security surrounding the defendant, personal delivery had proven unsuccessful.
The counsel therefore prayed the court to permit service through substituted means, which is a method allowed when the defendant is evading personal service or when personal service is otherwise impractical.
Court Rules in Favour of Cole
Justice Hassan, after considering the arguments and the difficulty encountered by the claimant’s team, granted the order. The ruling permits Tonye Cole’s lawyers to serve the court documents on Wike through an alternative, approved method, which typically involves:
-
Pasting the processes at a conspicuous location at his last known official or residential address.
-
Publication in a national newspaper.
This order clears a procedural hurdle for Cole, allowing the $₦$40 billion defamation suit to proceed to the next stage of judicial action.
