Court restrains ‘Imposter NUGS Officers” from holding themselves as NUGS Officers, Directs Chairmen of Judicial, Electoral and Steering Committees to take over the activities of NUGS

Court restrains ‘Imposter NUGS Officers” from holding themselves as NUGS Officers, Directs Chairmen of Judicial, Electoral and Steering Committees to take over the activities of NUGS

An Accra High Court (General Jurisdiction High Court 5) presided over by Justice (Mrs) Naa Adoley Azu J has granted an interlocutory injection application brought before it to restrain Mr. Julian M. Cobbinah and some other 9 persons from holding themselves as NUGS officers on it 11th Apirl, 2017 sitting.
It would be recalled that somewhere September last year after NUGS congress had been held at Ideal College in Accra electing Mr. Luqman Abubakari and some 9 others to spearhead the affairs of the mother student union of the country for the next academic year, Mr. Julian M. Cobbinah and some 9 others were also heard calling themselves ‘NUGS officers’ who have been elected from a supposed parallel congress held at Hohoe. This compelled the Luqman led NUGS officers to put the case before the court seeking the court to make;
1. A declaration that the plaintiffs together with all other persons elected at the congress held on the campus of ideal College, Madina, Accra are the true and proper officers-elect as officers of 1st plaintiff organization (In this case NUGS)
2. An order directing the 1st to 10th defendants (in this case Julian and his team) from holding themselves out as duly elected National Union of Ghana Students’ executives.
3. An order for perpetual injunction restraining the defendants (Julian and his team) from holding themselves out as national officers of the 1st Plaintiff organization(NUGS)
4. Costs including legal cost.
Though the council for Julian and his team had argued in court that the claims by the Luqman led NUGS officers were frivolous and should be thrown out, the court sitting an appeals court ruling in the case of Poutney v Doegah (1987-88) said “the court here has been satisfied that the Plaintiffs-Applicants claim is not frivolous. THE APPLICATION AS PRAYED IS GRANTED. THE DEFENDANTS-RESPONDENTS(JULIAN AND HIS TEAM) HEREIN ARE RESTRAINED FROM HOLDING THEMSELVES AS OFFICERS OF THE UNION pending the final determination of the matters in dispute before the court.” The court further directed that though the application for an interlocutory injunction on the Julian and his team is granted, “the Judicial Committee Chairman, assisted by the chairman of the electoral commission and the chairman of the steering committee are to steer the affairs of the company(NUGS) pending final determination of the matters in contention between the parties herein.”
Subsequently, the chairmen of the above named committees released a statement stating that taking over the activities of the union. The statement signed by all 3 chairmen of the committees above,- Mr. Maxwell Sakyi (Steering Committee) Mr. Kwakye Emmanuel (Judicial Board) and Mr. Peter K. Ataffoe(EC) – said “we believe that activities of the union cannot be brought to a halt because of the matter before the court and seeing the importance of the union to the students and the people of Ghana, we hereby take over the activities of the union starting with the planned ‘NUGS ENTREPRENEURSHIP SUMMIT’ scheduled to take place on the 28th of April.