The Chief Judge of Kogi State, Hon. Justice Josiah Majebi, has struck out a fresh application seeking the enforcement of an earlier order for the removal of the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Alhaji Tijani Anaje, describing the motion as an abuse of court process.
The application, marked HCL/34/2024, was filed by Daudu Banabas Ojiah and two others against the Governor of Kogi State and the Ohinoyi. The applicants sought to enforce a previous ruling delivered by Justice Salisu Umar of High Court Six concerning the royal succession matter. However, the CJ ruled that the move was procedurally inappropriate given a pending appeal on the same issue.
In his decision, Justice Majebi also awarded a N200,000 cost against the applicants, citing their failure to appear in court and the frivolous nature of their action. He emphasized the need to preserve the sanctity of the court and warned legal practitioners against filing motions that waste judicial time.
During proceedings, lead counsel to the defendants, Barr. A.W. Zakari from the Kogi State Ministry of Justice, expressed dismay that the applicants and their legal representatives failed to show up for the case they initiated. He disclosed that he was only informed on the eve of the hearing that the claimants had dissociated themselves from the suit.
Another member of the defense team, Barr. Z.E. Abbas, further reminded the court that a similar motion was earlier withdrawn and struck out in May 2025. He noted that the matter was already before the Court of Appeal, and criticized the applicants for attempting to bypass due process by seeking enforcement despite the ongoing appellate proceedings.
Both defense counsels called on the court to impose costs on the applicants for wasting the court’s time and violating legal protocol. Although a N2 million cost was canvassed by the defense, the court opted for a N200,000 sanction and formally dismissed the motion.
