An Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure, the State capital on Thursday ordered the State’s Candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN, to pay the sum of Four Million, three hundred thousand naira (N4.3million) to the Registrar of the Court being payment for his numerous billboards erected all over the State.
Mr Akeredolu had filed a suit challenging, amongst other things, the constitutionality or otherwise of the Ondo State Signage and Advertisement Agency (OSSAA) Law, 2011.
He had also filed a Motion for Interlocutory Injunction restraining OSSAA from carrying out its duties as empowered by the Law pending the determination of the substantive suit. The matter had been adjourned by the Presiding Judge, Justice Olusegun Odusola to Thursday, August
16, 2012 for the hearing of the Motion for Interlocutory Injunction.
However, before the hearing date, Akeredolu had gone ahead to erect billboards all over the State for his election campaign, a development which made OSSAA to issue Demand Notice for the payment of the sum of N4.3million being amount payable on the said billboards.
On Thursday however, Counsel to the Defendants, Adebayo Ogunsuyi informed the court that Plaintiff’s Counsel had just served him with a court process wherein weighty allegations were made against the Defendants which would warrant a response.
He then applied for an adjournment stressing that since the Ondo State Signage and Advertisement Law, 2011 was an existing Law, the Court was empowered by the Rule to order that the Plaintiff to pay the sum of N4.3 million being the amount on the Demand Notice to the Registrar of the Court.
In his response, Counsel to the Plaintiff, Adekola Olawoye had objected to the Defendants’ application that the money be paid to the Court stressing that if OSSAA impounds any of their billboards or branded vehicles, they would meet fire for fire.
But Justice Odusola, having listened to submission of both Counsels ordered that Akeredolu, the Plaintiff pays the sum of N4.3million being the amount on the Demand Notice to the Registrar of the Court pending the determination of the Motion on Notice. He subsequently adjourned the case to October 11, 2012.