THE Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka and elder statesman, Fred Agbeyegbe, have asked Justice James Tsoho of a Federal High Court in Lagos to declare the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria null and void and of no effect whatsoever.

Both Soyinka and Agbeyegbe were the surviving plaintiffs in the suit which originally had the late nonagenarian, Prince Tanimose Bankole-Oki, as the first plaintiff.

Agbeyegbe had to replace Bankole-Oki with the permission of the court, following the demise of Bankole-Oki last year.

The other plaintiff in the matter, apart from Soyinka and Agbeyegbe, was the late Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu.

During Thursday’s proceedings, the presiding judge, Justice James Tsoho, struck out the name of Ojukwu from the case, following an oral application made by the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Tony Nnadi.

Nnadi had earlier informed the court that he would later liaise with the remaining plaintiffs to know whether or not another person would be approved to replace Ojukwu.

The judge, thereafter, struck out Ojukwu’s name from the suit, in the absence of any objection from the counsel for the Federal Government, Ituah Eigbe.

Nnadi also used the occasion to inform the court of the threat on the life of Professor Soyinka by the Boko Haram religious sect.

The issues brought up by Ojukwu’s death stalled the main business of the day which was the adoption of the written addresses of the parties to the objection filed by the Federal Government challenging the jurisdiction of the court.

Further hearing on the matter was adjourned till March 15.

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