A Federal Capital Territory Abuja High Court has struck out a suit restraining Architects’ Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON) from conducting any scrutiny for those seeking to become registered architects.
Justice Muawiyah Baba Idris, who gave the ruling in Abuja at the weekend, explained that the plaintiffs approached the wrong court to seek legal redress and, therefore, vacated an injunction he made earlier restraining ARCON from carrying out any process that would have led to registration of new architects.
After analysing the arguments for and against the order and the court’s jurisdiction, the judge struck out the suit, saying only a Federal High Court has the jurisdiction to entertain such suit because ARCON was an agency of the Federal Government.
However, efforts by ARCON’S lawyer to make the court award cost against the plaintiffs in favour of the Council met a brick wall, as Justice Idris said there was no evidence of cost incurred before him and, therefore, declined to make any order on cost in favour of ARCON.
Piqued by ARCON’S planned programme towards registration of new architects, some persons including Ibrahim Kabir, Ayodeji Kolawole, Andy Imafidon, Dike Emmanuel, Opiribo West, Abimbola Ajayi and Emmanuel Ekeruche had approached the court to stop the Council.
The plaintiffs, who sat for controversial Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA) qualifying exams but are yet to pass through ARCON’S competency measures, and therefore not registered architects include Ademakinwa Olajumoke, Babajide Awonubi, Siyanbola Kukola and Emmanuel Adewunmi, who also sued for himself and other aggrieved person that sat and passed the NIA qualifying exams.
They sued ARCON, NIA, Dipo Ajayi, ARCON president and Njoku Adibe, president, NIA, as first to fourth defendants respectively.
Resuming sitting yesterday, the court was filled to capacity, and despite repeated efforts by ARCON’S lawyer to have the judgment delivered earlier, the judge in his wisdom delayed the judgment till much later.
After resuming from his short break, some minutes after mid day, Justice Idris, who first reviewed the case and submissions of counsel, said having taken cognisance that ARCON was a Federal Government agency, a Federal High Court, has jurisdiction on any administrative issue, such as the plaintiffs were complaining about.
