Aftermath Of Appeal Court Judgment: Group Renew Call For Disbandment Of Imo Nass Tribunal Panel 1

Worried by the seeming 108 days of legal rigmarole, occasioned by the apparent inability of Justice S.A Sanya’s led National Assembly election petition tribunal panel 1, to provide an equitable platform, that will promote the judicial ideals of fair-hearing, impartiality and justice, due to its incessant long adjournments, striking out and dismissing election petitions at pre-hearing sessions, only to be returned by the Appeal Court for fair hearing, which has coxswained the lack of public confidence in the ability of the tribunal to deliver justice.

An apex youth group in the state, Network of Imo Youths, has again renewed its call for the disbandment of the panel by urging the National Judiciary Council NJC and President Court of Appeal PCA, to use their good offices to intervene and disband the Justice S.A Sanya’s led National Assembly election petition tribunal, panel 1, to restore people’s confidence in the judiciary , noting that the judiciary as the last hope of the common man should occupy a central place in every democracy and a tribunal charged with the adjudication of matters arising from electoral disputes should be fair in delivering justice to the people no matter whose ox is gored.

The group led by Chukwubuikem Amaefula, while drawing the attention of the NJC and the PCA to the fact, that the panel since its inauguration 108 days ago, has not shown any likelihood of taking any petition before it, above pre-trial stage, let alone commencing full trial, urged those whose cases are domiciled in the Justice Sanya’s led penal, to hurry and transfer those cases to other panels, in other to secure unbiased justice.

The group said ‘’ it is obvious from the conduct of the panel since its inauguration that the panel was not ready to conclude the petitions before it within the statutory 180 days owing to its never-ending long adjournments, a development which has further given credence to the general feeling amongst Imolites that the panel was set up to frustrate petitions of the All Progressive Congress APC, candidates in the state by ensuring that none of the petitions before it reaches the judgment stage within the statutory period of 180 days’.’