Mkpoikana Udoma
24 April 2018, Sweetcrude, Port Harcourt — An Appeal Court sitting in Port Harcourt has adjourned till October 8, 2018 for continuation of hearing on the suit seeking to annul the execution of renowned environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other people of Ogoni in 1995 by the Nigerian government.
A pro-Ogoni group known as the Ken Saro Wiwa Associates, had approach the Appeal Court challenging the judgement of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt which had earlier struck out the case for lack of merit.
Ken Saro-Wiwa Associates, is asking the court to annual judgement by the Federal High Court, presided by Justice Mohammed Liman, which struck out their suit on the basis that the appellant could not state his relationship with the deceased.
According to the group, the court should annul the Ogoni Civil Disturbance Tribunal which sentenced Ogoni rights activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others to death by hanging.
They also prayed the court to declare the special tribunal constituted by then Military Government and the process of setting up the panel as unlawful. Other reliefs sought by the group from the Appeal Court, was to set aside the judgement of the tribunal against Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others on October 31, 1995.
However, when the matter was mentioned on Monday in the Appeal Court, Counsel to the appellant, Barr. Golden Aawi, told the court that a pending motion seeking for enlargement of time in order to get necessary documents from the Federal High Court and other documents relating to the matter, was already before it.
The led presiding Judges, Justice A.A. Gumel, in his ruling on the motion for the enlargement of time by the appellant, granted the motion and adjourned till October 8, 2018 for continuation of hearing.
