Court Adjourns Jos North Indigeneship Appeal to Oct. 29

By Faith Chondol

A Plateau State High Court on Friday adjourned until Oct. 29, 2026, proceedings in an application filed by the Jos North Local Government Council seeking to set aside a default judgment delivered on June 9 in the long-running Jos North indigeneship case.

The court fixed the new date after hearing arguments over the appearance of a new legal team representing one of the respondents, an issue it said must be resolved before the substantive application can proceed.

The June 9 judgment was entered in favour of the respondents after the Jos North Local Government Council failed to appear during the earlier proceedings, resulting in a default judgment.

At Friday’s sitting, counsel to the Jos North Local Government Council and the three indigenous ethnic groups Berom, Afizere and Anaguta, Garba Pwul (SAN), challenged the appearance of lawyers representing one of the respondents, Fatima Akawu, arguing that the legal team was not originally on record in the case.

Edward Pwajok (SAN), responding to the objection, said all parties were duly represented before the court and argued that the matter centred on compliance with procedural rules governing legal representation.

The applicants maintained that any change of counsel must first be approved through a formal application before the court. They argued that the introduction of a new legal team without prior notice amounted to a legal ambush and breached established court procedures.

Counsel to the respondents, Yakubu H. (SAN), representing Baba Alhaji Akawu, told the court that Fatima Akawu and her father are separate parties in the suit and have the constitutional right to engage different legal representatives. He argued that retaining separate legal teams was lawful and did not violate court procedures.

After listening to submissions from both sides, the court adjourned the matter until Oct. 29 to rule on the preliminary issue of legal representation.

The court is expected to consider the Jos North Local Government Council’s application to set aside the June 9 default judgment after determining the issue of legal representation.