NII ADJEI BOAHEN II v. NII KPOBI TETTEY TSURU III & ORS

DECISION

i. Introduction:

[1] It recalls that on the 3rd day of March, 2017 the Plaintiff commenced this instant action by issuing a writ of summons against the Defendants herein for certain judicial reliefs.

The Writ of Summons together with the Statement of Claim was later amended on 26th July, 2017. The reliefs endorsed on the Writ of Summons are as follows:

i. A Declaration that the Defendants have no lawful authority to leave out or ignore the Plaintiff in the induction and swearing in of some members of the La Traditional Council as by law established or from participation in its affairs.

ii. A Declaration that by leaving out and ignoring the Plaintiff in the induction and/or participation in the affairs of the La Traditional Council of which he is a member, the Defendants are violating the rights of the Plaintiff.

iii. Perpetual injunction restraining the Defendants, members of the La Traditional Council, their agents, servants and privies from interfering with or violating the rights of the Plaintiff as a member of the La Traditional Council.

iv. General Damages for wrongful interference with the rights of the Plaintiff.

ii. The Background of Application:

[2] Filed together with the original writ of summons was a Motion on Notice for Interlocutory Injunction. The 1st and 2nd Defendants entered a Conditional Appearance to the Writ of Summons but did not follow up their protest with any application and subsequently filed an affidavit in opposition to the application for injunction on April 7, 2017. The 3rd Defendant also filed an affidavit in opposition on March 15, 2017 and followed it up with a Supplementary Affidavit on June 7, 2017. The Plaintiff further filed a Supplementary Affidavit on May 29, 2017 to rebut the depositions of the Defendants to his injunction application.

[3] Further to the amendment of the writ of summons after the grant of leave by the Court the Plaintiff filed a new application for interlocutory injunction on September 10, 2018 and same was scheduled for September 20, 2018. Before the application for injunction could be heard however, the 1st and 2nd Defendants on September 19, 2018 filed the instant application to set aside the writ of summons and the statement of claim for want of jurisdiction.

[4] It is against the backdrop of the reliefs stated supra that the 1st and 2nd Defendants/Applicants have filed the instant application invoking the inherent jurisdiction of this court to set aside the writ on th