June 30, 2016 | General News

Court Stops Chief Judge, others from swearing-in Ogah as governor

Source: pointblanknews.com

Listen to article

A High Court of Abia State has stopped the Chief Judge of Abia State,

President of the Customary Court of Appeal and any other judiciary

officer, from swearing-in Mr. Uche Oga as governor.

The order made today in court by Justice Ahuchaogu reads: “Upon this

motion ex-parte pursuant to section 143 (1) & (2) of the Electoral Act

2010 (as amended) and pending the determination of the motion on notice,

after hearing O.O Nkume, counsel to the applicant.
“It is ordered that an order of injunction is hereby made restraining the

2nd defendant (INEC) from issuing a certificate of return to the 1st

defendant (Ogah) while the claimant (Ikpeazu) remains in office in

accordance with section 143 (1) & (2) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as

amended) and pending the determination of the motion on notice.

“It is further ordered that the 3rd defendant (chief judge of Abia State)

or any other judge of the court or any judiciary officer are hereby

restricted from swearing-in the 1st defendant (Ogah) while the claimant

(Ikpeazu) remains in office in accordance with section 143 (1) & (2) of

the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and pending the determination of the

motion on notice.
“It is also ordered that this order is hereby made to last for 10 days

from today. The returnable date is fixed for the 8th day of July, 2016.

“Furthermore, the condition attached to this order is that the enrolled

order must be served along with the motion on notice on respondents, else

he order automatically lapses on 8th July, 2016.”

Also, in a motion of ex-parte order the court also restricted the

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from issuing a

certificate of return to Oga.
The order reads: “an order of injunction restraining the 2nd defendant

(INEC) from issuing a certificate of return to the 1st defendant (Ogah)

while the claimant (Ikpeazu) remains in office in accordance with section

143 (1) & (2) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and pending the

determination of the motion on notice.
“An order of injunction restraining the 3rd defendant (Chief Judge of Abia

State) or any other judge of the court, or any judiciary officer from

swearing in the 1st defendant (Ogah) while the claimant (Ikpeazu) remains

in office in accordance with section 143 (1) & (2) of the Electoral Act

2010 (as amended) and pending the determination of the motion on notice.”

Meanwhile, the Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu has advised

Abians to remain calm and law abiding, stressing that he is still their

Governor.
A release signed by the Governor reads: “I have received with concern,

report of the purported issuance of Certificate of Return to Mr. Uche Ogah

by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as governor of

Abia State, despite the pendency of a notice of appeal and motion for

stay of the execution of the orders made by Justice Okon Abang of the

Federal High Court, Abuja.
“Our laws are clear on this matter. No one may be issued with a

certificate of return let alone be sworn in as governor, when there is a

subsisting appeal and application for stay.
“I want to appeal to Abians to remain calm and law abiding in the face of

this provocation. Unless and until the appellant courts have conclusively

resolved the appeal, the status quo remains; I am still the Governor of

Abia State.”
It will be recalled that Ikpeazu had on Wednesday filed an appeal against

Monday’s judgment of a Federal High Court in Abuja which removed him from

office as governor.
The Governor, in a notice of appeal filed by Chief Adegboyega Awomolo,

SAN, raised five grounds of appeal upon which he asked the Court of Appeal

to set aside the judgment and orders of the high court.

The governor said that the Federal High Court lacked the power to order

him to vacate the seat of Abia State Governor.
The notice of appeal reads: “The trial judge erred in law when he ordered

as a consequential order that the appellant vacates his office as the

Governor of Abia state immediately when there was no jurisdiction in the

Federal High Court to remove, vacate the occupier of the office of the

governor of a state or order the removal of such officer after the

unsuccessful challenge of the result of the election at the Tribunal and

swearing in of the appellant as the governor.”

The governor said that the only power, authority and order exercisable by

the Federal High Court was to disqualify the candidate from contesting the

election based on section 31(6) of the Electoral Act 2010.

Ikepazu also faulted the judge when he held that he did not pay his tax

for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013, at when due, when he was a public

officer whose tax deduction was under Pay As You Earn (PAYE) scheme where

tax deductions were from the source of his monthly salary by the tax

authorities who isssued all the tax receipts and certificates.

He also said that the Abia State Board of Internal Revenue Services that

issued him with the tax certificates had not declared the certificates

forged and that the trial court did not invite the issuing authorities to

give evidence in the course of the trial.
Ikpeazu said that the plaintiff Dr Samson Uchechukwu Ogah was not a staff

of the Abia Board of Internal Revenue and did not any staff of the board

to testify that the tax certificates were forged.
He accused the trial judge, Justice Okon Abang of violating his right to

fair hearing by embarking on judicial investigation without giving him

(Ikepazu) the opportunity to address the court on the issue.

The notice of appeal also states: “The learned trial judge erred in law

when he held that the appellant presented false information to the

Independent National Electoral Commission by his ingenous meticulous study

and investigation of documents filed in courts in the recess of his

chambers and thereby violated the right of the appellant to fair hearing.”

The governor said that the judge had no duty to investigate the contents

of documents dumped on the court in the recess of his chambers with a view

to finding for the plaintiff.
“The decision of the judge which arose from the judicial investigation

without opportunity to the appellant violated the appellant’s right to

fair hearing”, the governor said.
Ikepazu also rejected the decision of the high court declaring him

unqualified to be nominated as the primary election conducted by his party

because false information was supplied to INEC.
According to him, INEC Form CF001 which the judge relied on was not one of

the grounds of qualification to contest the primary election of PDP.

He said that the judge misconceived the presented by the parties and

thereby arrived at a wrong conclusion which occasioned a grave miscarriage

of justice.
Meanwhile, the governor’s party, the PDP has also rejected the judgment

and filed a separate appeal.
The party said that the trial court erred in law when it held that it had

jurisdiction to hear the suit which was on whether section 24 (f) of the

1999 constitution was complied with.
It said: “The honourable trial court misdirected itself when it construed

the provisions of the PDP constitution to the detriment of the appellant

without giving the appellant a chance to be heard and thereby occasioned

miscarriage of justice.”
In the particulars of the error, the appellant said Ukeagbara and Mba

being “the 1st and 2nd respondents in the appeal did not pray the trial

court to construe the provisions of the PDP constitution.

“No evidence was led that the said Uche Sampson Ogah participated in the

2015 Abia State gubernatorial elections yet the trial court declared him

as winner of the said elections contrary to the express provisions of

section 141 of the Electoral Act.”
The PDP urged the Court of Appeal for “an order setting aside the judgment

of the Federal High Court of Nigeria in suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/10862014

delivered on the 27th day of June, 2016.”
Justice Okon Abang had on Monday ordered Ikpeazu's removal from office

for giving false information in the form submitted to the Independent

National Electoral Commission by the PDP, nominating him as its candidate

for the April 11, 2015 governorship election.
In two separate judgments, Justice Abang ordered Ikpeazu to vacate the

office of the governor of Abia State.
The judge also directed INEC to issue a fresh Certificate of Return to the

plaintiff in one of the two suits, Uche Ogah, who was the first runner-up

in the governorship primary conducted by the PDP on December 8, 2014.

He had ordered that Ogah's full entitlements be restored to him as

Governor of Abia State.
The judge made the orders after disqualifying Ikpeazu as the candidate of

the PDP in the April 11, 2015, governorship election on the basis that he

committed perjury by giving false information in the Form 8C001 and

documents accompanying it, which he and the PDP submitted nominating him

to INEC as the party's governorship candidate.
Court Stops Chief Judge, others from swearing-in Ogah as governor