Sarat Ojoma Yusuf, the daughter of Alhaji Idris Yusuf of Ajagwumu village, Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi state and the elder sister of late Hafsat Urane Yusuf through her Counsel, Barrister Adesoji S. Lawal has confirmed that she indeed executed a court judgment, attaching properties of AbdulRahman Obaje on 17^th July, 2020.

Recall that Abdulrahman had cried out that Late Hafsat Urane Yusuf the daughter of Alhaji Idris Yusuf of Ajagwumu village, Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi state had on the Friday 17^th July, 2020 successfully executed a court judgment from her grave, when Sarat Ojoma Yusuf led a court official, a policeman and a truck to cart away his properties.

Abdulrahman said that, “Late Hafsat Urane Yusuf the daughter of Alhaji Idris Yusuf of Ajagwumu village, Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi state had on the Friday 17^th July, 2020 successfully executed a court judgment from her grave against a popular ICT pundit and Investigative journalist, Prince Abdulrahman Obaje by attaching his household properties.

“According to a court process dated 19/9/2018, Hafsat Urane Yusuf that died on the 10^th of October, 2017, ten (10) days after remarrying to one Yusuf MKay, is asking Abdulrahman to pay the sum of Five hundred and six thousand, seven hundred naira (#506, 700:00k) or go to prison.”

In a DIRECT CRIMINAL COMPLAINT, and received on 13th August, 2020, Sarat through her lawyer, Barrister Adesoji S. Lawal & Associates said, “Kindly cause a Criminal Summon to be issued against the Defendant pursuant to Section 88, 89 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 in the following terms:

PARTICULARS OF COMPLAINT

1. The Compliant is a public servant, an house wife and a sister in-law to the defendant whose sister got married to him under Islamic rites.
2. Unfortunately on account of the disagreeable ways and manners of the defendant which entails violence, inability to live up to his marital responsibilities etc the marriage was dissolved at the instance of the sister to the Complainant by the Upper Area Court, Karu in 2012.
3. Upon dissolution of the said marriage the court awarded a judgment Sum calculable at #10,000(Ten thousand naira) only monthly as an order of maintenance against the defendant which aggregate has accrued to about #700,000(Seven hundred thousand naira) only at the time of filling this suit the sum bring left unpaid by the defendant.
4. Rather than obey the court’s Order awarding judgment sum against him the defendant resorted to filling spurious lawsuit to annoy the Claimant and her family which were serially struck out for their incompetence at various times.
5. Thus frustrated the defendant took to defaming the names and reputation of the Complainant and members of her family by going about with cruel slanders, libelous publications and calumny to members of the society thereby lowering their estimates and moral worth in the opinion of many right thinking members of the society.
6. That as an instance of this the defendant caused to be published on 10^th February, 2020 injurious and defamatory remarks to the effect that the complainant is irresponsible and whose dignity as a woman is questionable and the one that caused the breakdown of his marriage.
7. Upon seeing this defamatory publication the Complainant caused a letter to be written to the defendant dated 6^th July 2020 demanding a retraction and an apology of the offensive remarks. A copy of the letter served through the defendant’s lawyer but refused to be collected is herewith attached and marked Exhibit A.
8. Whilst a response to the said letter is being awaited from the defendant the officials of Upper Area Court, moved on to the defendant’s premises in Jikwoyi, Abuja to execute the judgment of the court earlier referred to.
9. Though the properties attached in satisfaction of the said judgment hardly equates the judgment sum is has prompted the defendant to amplify and redouble his efforts to orchestrate a smear campaign and character assassination against the complainant and her family members not leaving behind his dead wife whom he described as promiscuous even in death.
10. As an instance of the above the defendant has invaded the social media pages of the Complainant on Facebook to lift her picture for his slanderous and defamatory ends and causing two online cables news networks namely RegentAfrican Times published by Regent Africa Times Group of Publication and one Capitalpost.ng on 27^th July, 2020 and 25^th July 2020 respectively to publish defamatory contents against the Complainant and her family alleging them of fraudulently obtaining a Court Judgment to be executed against him extorting money from him, making attempt on his life and that of his family amidst other defamatory remarks

WHEREOF the act of the defendants constitutes the offence of Defamation contrary to S.392 Penal Code Law.

The defendant declined comment, however making available to journalists documents, including the RULING WRITTEN AND DELIVERED BY JUSTICE MOMODU DIRISU HON. KADI 1 of an appeal SCA/FCT/M/50/2019 between ABDULRAHMAN ADEJOH OBAJE AND HAFSAT URANE YUSUF on the ground that the matter lack proper parties, saying “dead person is not a legal person”.

Full Text:

RULING WRITTEN AND DELIVERED BY JUSTICE MOMODU DIRISU HON. KADI 1

THIS IS A MOTION ON NOTICE BROUGHT IN PURSUANT TO ORDER 4 RULE 1 AND 3 OF THE SHARIA COURT APPEAL RULES 1960 SECTION 6 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPBULIC OF NIGERIA 1999 (AS AMENDED) AND UNDER THE INHERENT JURISDICTION OF THE HONORABLE COURT.

Moving the motion, counsel to the applicant states that the motion is praying this Honorable Court for the following four (4) reliefs:

1. AN ORDER for enlargement of time within which the Appellant/Applicant shall appeal against part of the decision contained in the judgement of the FCT Upper Area Court sitting in Karu- Abuja by the Hon. Judge Ibrahim Usman Waliyyulah, dated 20/1/2016.
2. AN ORDER Granting leave to the Appelant/Applicant to file notice/grounds of appeal out of time against the decision contained in the judgment of the FCT Upper Area Court sitting in Karu- Abuja by the Hon. Judge Ibrahim Usman Waliyyulah, dated 20/1/2016.
3. AN ORDER deeming the Notice/Grounds of Appeal filed herewith out of time as properly filed and served, necessary fee having duly paid.
4. Any other or further orders as this Honorable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstance.

Counsel, submit that the application is supported by 24 paragraph affidavit and they rely on all the paragraphs particularly paragraphs 9, 15 and 19. They also relied on all the Exhibits attached. Submit that there was a domestic arrangement between the applicant and the Respondent. The Applicant was to bring food instead of money. They had to appeal since settlement has broken down.

Counsel to the Respondent Submit that they filed a counter-affidavit of nine paragraphs. They rely on all the depositions. They also filed a written address. They adopt the written address as their oral submission. They urge the court to dismiss the application with heavy cost.

Submit that the applicant has failed woefully to establish valid ground why the application should be granted. Therefore, Counsel urge the Court to refuse the application. Counsel to the Respondent raised other issues why the application should be refused. Submit that the Respondent is a dead person, hence this Honourable Court has no jurisdiction to try a dead person. That this is certain in paragraphs 16 of Applicant’s affidavit.

Finally urge the Court to refuse the application with special cost.

We have painstakingly, considered the materials put before us by the Applicant and the Respondent. We shall raise a sole issue for the determination of this Court. The issue is if it is ascertained that the Respondent is a dead person, whether this Honourable Court has the jurisdiction to entertain this application.

The parties in this application are Abdulrahman Adejoh Obaje as applicant and Hafsat Urane Yusuf as the Respondent.

As to who is the Respondent, we shall have recourse to paragraph 2 of the Counter-Affidavit filed by one Sarat Ojoma Yusuf. I hereby reproduce the averment.

“That sometime in late 2018, I was served with an application for the extention of time to appeal/judgment delivered by Upper Area Court, Karu in CV/17/13 between Hafsat Urane Yusuf V. Abdur Rahman Adejoh Obaje amongst other prayers as well as a Notice of Appeal.

In support of these paragraph 2 of the counter-affidavit in the submission by Counsel to the Respondent that Hafsat Urane Yusuf is a dead person. This fact were not controverted by the Counsel to the Appellant. It is trite that facts admitted need no further prove. Therefore we hold that the Respondent in this application is a dead person.

In our legal jurisprudence, one of the conditions to be satisfied before a Court can assume a jurisdiction to entertain a matter is that there must be proper parties before the court. In the instant application there are no proper parties before the Court because a dead person is not a legal person.

As the situation to be taken when situation like this arose, we refer to the case of Momodu V. Momh (1991)1 N.W.L.R part 169, page 618 Parah. The Supreme Court has this to say:

“The 1^st Appellants interest in the appeal is not in doubt but it is futile and academic for the dispute in the claim to be pursuant and determined in his absence that is when he is more alive, since he was personally to be the beneficiary. See also the case of GREEN V. GREEN V. (1987)3 N.W.L.R (part 6) 480 at pp 492.

We are bound by the Supreme Court decision. Since the Respondent is no longer a live, it become an academic exercise to proceed with this application, as proper parties are not before the Court. This has robbed this Honorable Court the jurisdiction to entertain this application. Consequently, application is struck out.”

The ruling ended.

And a court order for execution (picture below)

The matter is to come up on the 21st August, 2020 at the Mpape Upper Area Court, Abuja.