From: Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
A Makurdi Chief Magistrate Court presided over by Isaac Ajim has adjourned till January 30, 2018 the case between Governor Samuel Ortom and former Lagos State Police Commissioner, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav for continuation of hearing.
Governor Ortom had dragged the Socio critic, Tsav to the court over a petition he (Tsav) wrote to him accusing him of awarding contract for the purchase of vehicles to his company, Oracle Business Limited, which he (Ortom) considered injurious.
Counsel to the Governor, Andrew Wombo who urged the court to dismiss the preliminary objection brought before it by the counsel to the accused maintained that the content of the said letter was false.
Wombo argued further that the said letter was addressed to the Governor by the accused person who, as Public Complaints commissioner in charge of the state, was supposed to receive complaints from members of the public and act on same and not him writing a letter against anybody.
Earlier, counsel to the accused, Tony Agadah who insisted that his client acted within the confines of his duty by writing that petition posited that the letter had a file number at the Public Complaints Commission and had thus, formed a document of the Commission.
Agadah who maintained that the Public Complaints Commissioner had the power to commence any investigation on his own submitted that the charge brought against his client was a nullity, premature and an attempt to silence a dogged critic of government.
In his ruling, the trial Chief Magistrate, Ajim while granting an extension of bail to the accused person, adjourned the case till January 30,2018 for further hearing.