The All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari’s campaign train is expected to arrive the Enyimba International Stadium, Aba the commercial nerve centre of the state, today.
He is coming amid confusion over who is the authentic governorship candidate of the party in the state. The confusion followed conflicting judgements delivered by two Federal High Courts sitting in Abuja, the federal capital, with each court deciding the matter in favour of Chief Ikechi Emenike, and Dr. Uche Ogah respectively.
On November, 29 last year, Hon Justice K. N. Ogbonnaya, presiding at Kubuwa High Court, decided the matter in favour of Emenike, and reaffirmed it latter following an application by Ogah and the APC to set it aside two weeks ago.
Ruling on the application, she described their motion as a clear abuse of judicial process, unmeritorious and un-grantable, adding that the earlier judgement remained valid until it is set aside.
Ogbonnaya, who condemned the action of the APC, Ogah, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), wondered why they do not want the plaintiff to reap the fruits of the judgement.
She further ruled that the 1st defendant (APC) has no discretion to refuse, reject and/or neglect to act on the list of candidates forwarded to it for onward transmission to the 2nd defendant (INEC).
In the other judgement, Hon Justice A. I. Chikere of High Court 4, delivered on Friday, 25th January, ruled in favour of the APC and Ogah against Eminike’s application to set it aside.
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Reacting to the judgement, counsel for Emenike, Barr Somadila Uzodinma said he was baffled by it, adding that both courts are of coordinate jurisdiction and that it should not be taken serious.
Uzodinma cautioned the camp of Ogah not to rejoice over the judgement as it will not stand before any Court of Appeal, appealing to judges not to truncate the country’s hard earned democracy.
Similarly, the publicity secretary of the party, Engr Mike Ozoemena, noted that justice should not be sacrificed on the altar of personal interest as the judgement does not hold water.
In her reaction, an Aba-based legal practitioner, Barr Ijeoma Kalu described the second judgement as a clear case of abuse of court process, saying both courts are of coordinate jurisdiction.
Kalu warned that judges should be careful with the kind of judgements they deliver, pointing out that when they fail to read or learn about the judgement of their colleagues they will end up confusing the people.
“The second court has no business going into a matter that has been settled by another high court,” she said, adding that the only legal option open to the defendants in the first case is to approach the Court of Appeal.
She expressed worry that the matter had been worsened by the fact that the defendants rushed to the second court to adjudicate on the same matter and are also at the Court of Appeal over the same matter.
While arguing that the judiciary should remain the last hope of the common man, she added, “If we do not want it to lose its credibility, the judges should endeavour to obey the basic tenets of adjudication”.
