A High Court sitting in Abia State has halted the Chief
Judge of Abia State, the President of the Customary Court of Appeal in the
state and some other legal officers in the state from swearing in Uche Ogah as governor.
The request, given by Justice Chibuzo Ahuchaogu Thursday,
peruses: “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.”
Furthermore, the court restricted the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) from delivering certificate of return to Mr. Ogah.
The court’s directive reads as follows: “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.”
In the interim, the Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has requested
that all indigenes and residents of Abia State should stay cool and reputable, stressing
that he remained their valid governor.
According to the announcement made by the governor, he said:
“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.”
Report has it that Mr. Ikpeazu had on Wednesday documented
an appeal against Monday's judgment of a Federal High Court in Abuja which disqualified
him from office as the state governor.
The governor, in a notification of appeal recorded by
Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), raised five grounds of appeal, and solicited the
Court of Appeal to set aside the judgment and demands of the high court.
The governor went further to say the Federal High Court did
not have the knack to bid him to vacate his seat as the governor of Abia State.
“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 bid read.
The governor while speaking emphasized that the Federal High
Court is only empowered to disqualify a party’s candidate prior to an election as
enshrined by the law in section 31(6) of the Electoral Act 2010.
Mr. Ikpeazu likewise criticised the judge for saying that he
didn't pay his taxes for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013, during his years of
work as public officer whose tax deduction was under Pay As You Earn (PAYE)
payment plan.
He said that the Abia State Board of Internal Revenue
Services that delivered to him tax clearance certificates has never said at any
time that his tax certificate is fake
Mr. Ikpeazu while addressing Abians stated that the complainant,
Samson Uchechukwu Ogah, was not a staff of the Abia Board of Internal Revenue
and did not welcome any staff of the board to affirm that his tax clearance
certificate were doctored.
He charged the trial judge, Justice Okon Abang, of abusing
his entitlement to reasonable hearing by setting out on legal examination
without giving him (Ikepazu) the chance to address the court on the issue.
The further included in the document that, “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 appeal read.
“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 offer said.
In the meantime, the representative's party, the PDP has
likewise documented a different claim.
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