The Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt has struck out a suit filed by members of the Local Government Service Commission.
The Commission’s Chairman, Goodlife Ben, and five others challenged their removal by former Sole Administrator, Ibok-Ete Ibas.
The claimants, appointed earlier by Governor Siminalayi Fubara, asked the court to declare their removal unlawful and to order reinstatement.
However, during Thursday’s sitting, their counsel, Kelechi Ubani, announced withdrawal of the case, calling it a “painful but necessary decision.”
Ubani told the court the decision was made in the interest of peace and progress of Rivers State.
Defence lawyers urged Justice Frank Onyiri to dismiss the matter outright rather than strike it out, but the judge disagreed.
Justice Onyiri dismissed their objection as baseless, citing Order 25, Rule 1, which allows withdrawal of civil suits.
The judge struck out the case without awarding costs and praised the claimants’ withdrawal as a “noble” step towards reconciliation.
