#EndSARS: Presidential aspirant seeking Twitter ban shuns court hearing

Adamu Garba paused his presidential ambition to become a mouthpiece for the Buhari administration.

Nimi Princewill • November 26, 2020

Adamu Garba

A presidential aspirant, Adamu Garba, boycotted proceedings Wednesday in his suit seeking the proscription of Twitter at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court.

Mr. Garba had filed a $1 billion lawsuit against the social networking service and its founder Jack Dorsey for publicly supporting the #EndSARS protests in Nigeria.

The politician, in a motion on notice posted on his Twitter handle on October 20, asked the Twitter founder to pay the said sum to the Nigerian government as compensation for the lives and property lost during the nationwide street demonstration, Peoples Gazette reported.

Mr. Garba, however, failed to show up in court for the hearing of the suit, neither did his legal team.

Rights lawyer Tope Akinyode, who had filed a counter suit challenging Mr. Garba’s request for a judicial order to proscribe Twitter in Nigeria, tweeted that the petitioners failed to show up in court without stating why.

“BREAKING: I was at the Federal High Court today to defend Adamu Garba’a lawsuit against @jack and @Twitter. However, @adamugarba & his lawyers failed to show up in Court without given reasons & the Court has now adjourned the case to 22nd April, 2021,” Mr. Akinyode wrote.

BREAKING: I was at the Federal High Court today to defend Adamu Garba'a lawsuit against @jack and @Twitter. However, @adamugarba & his lawyers failed to show up in Court without given reasons & the Court has now adjourned case to 22nd April, 2021.
— Tope Akinyode (@TopeAkinyode) November 25, 2020

Mr. Garba and his legal representatives are yet to issue a statement on their absence in court.

Many Nigerians who reacted to his no-show, however, believe Mr. Garba’s lawsuit was frivolous anyway.

@adamugarba was joking naah , somebody cannot joke with these sorosoke generation pic.twitter.com/gYTJHnzybz
— E B E R E (@EbereCFC) November 25, 2020

The reason his lawyers didn't show up is because they thought Adamu Garba was joking when he sued Jack.

When they found out he was actually serious, they called him a mumu man and quit. I think he is crying in his crowee app now
— IRUNNIA (@Irunnia_) November 25, 2020

They will keep adjourning that stupid case until it's eventually thrown out of the courts.The fool think its just to make empty threats and talk big big grammar.Imagine of all the problems in this country the only thing this 🤡🤡seems to want to do is to sue twitter owner.
— lillybaby (@OGELYN) November 25, 2020

https://twitter.com/onahcaleb1/status/1331559813067796480

See how litigants and their counsels disrespect the courts. They didn't show up and did not have the courtesy to write the court. This practice self.
— Ibrahim Giwa-Osagie. (@colkefas) November 25, 2020

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