Justice Nicolas Oweibo of the Federal High Court, Lagos has ordered an aspirant, Mr. Olasunkanmi Shittu, to serve court processes via substituted means, to a lawmaker representing Surulere Constituency II in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mrs. Mosunmola Sangodara.

The judge made the order following Shittu’s application filed and argued by his counsel, Dr. Kemi Pinheiro (SAN) in a suit seeking to disqualify the lawmaker from representing Surulere Constituency II in the Lagos State House of Assembly.

The plaintiff in a suit marked FHC/L/CS/1468/2022, is praying the court to disqualify Sangodara and declare him (Shittu) as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for next year’s election.

Aside Sangodara, other respondents are, APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The plaintiff’s in a motion ex parte dated August 4, for substituted service, prayed the court for “an order granting leave to the plaintiff to effect service of the writ of summons and statement of claim and other accompanying processes filed or that may be filed on the 2nd defendant by substituted means to wit, by delivering same to the Clerk of the Lagos State House of Assembly and/or through her e-mail address as indicated in the 2nd defendant’s Form EC9 published and displayed by the 1st Defendant.”

Justice Oweibo, therefore, granted the order as prayed.

He held: “Order of substituted service is hereby granted, as prayed. The return date shall be the 7th day of September, 2022 for hearing.”

The plaintiff, in his statement of claim, is seeking a declaration that the information contained in the affidavit in support of Personal Particulars (Form EC9) deposed to by the 2nd defendant and submitted to the 1st defendant in support of the 2nd defendant’s nomination to contest the membership of the Lagos State House of Assembly to represent Surulere Constituency 2 in the 2023 House of Assembly Election, is false. “An order declaring that plaintiff, being the candidate with the second highest number of votes at the 3rd defendant’s primary election, as the candidate of the 3rd defendant to contest the membership of the Lagos State House of Assembly to represent Surulere Constituency 2 in the forthcoming 2023 House of Assembly election. “An order of perpetual injunction mandating the 1st defendant to remove from its published list of candidates for the forthcoming 2023 House of Assembly election, the name of the 2nd defendant and replace same with the name of the plaintiff.”