A Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday, fixed July 11 for hearing the preliminary objection filed by the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) against a suit by Gov. Peter Mbah of Enugu State.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, who fixed the date, also ordered the NYSC to file and serve their statement of defence within seven days of the order.
The development followed an oral application by the defendants’ lawyer, Aminu Sadauki, seeking for about a week to respond to Mbah’s substantive matter.
Justice Ekwo also warned journalists against being speculative in the report of the case instituted by Enugu governor against the youth scheme over alleged discharge certificate forgery.
The judge gave the warning after he struck out the motion for joinder filed by the Labour Party and its governorship candidate in the Enugu State poll, Jonathan Edeoga, which they later sought to withdraw.
“The problem I have in this kind of thing is that persons that have not been made parties will go and start addressing the media on speculative issues and the media will start writing things when they have not read the proceedings.
“I have always told the media that proceedings in this court are open to the media.
“It is only in this country that you see those that said they are practising journalism becoming agents,” he said.
