Court Restrains Chief Judge, Others From Swearing-in Ogah As Abia Governor

A High Court in Abia State has restrained the Chief Judge of Abia State, the President of the Customary Court of Appeal and any other judiciary officer from swearing-in Uche Ogah as the State Governor.

The order was made on Thursday by Justice C. H. Ahuchaogu.

The order 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 from issuing a Certificate of Return to Ogah.

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.

The orders were obtained following the issuance of a Certificate of Return to Ogah by the INEC in Abuja on Thursday.

This was sequel to the order of a Federal High Court to INEC to issue Ogah a Certificate of Return and ordered Ikpeazu to vacate office.

But Ikpeazu also on Thursday said he remains the governor of the State despite the Certificate of Return issued to Ogah.

In a statement he personally signed, Ikpeazu 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.”

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, sequel to which he asked the Court of Appeal to set aside the judgment and orders of the Federal High Court.

The governor said 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 scheme where tax deductions were from the source of his monthly salary by the tax authorities who issued all the tax receipts and certificates.

He also said 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 Ogah, the plaintiff, was not a staff of the Abia Board of Internal Revenue and did not produce 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 stated: “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 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 Federal High Court declaring him unqualified to be nominated as the primary election conducted by his party, the Peoples Democratic 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 the PDP.

He said the judge misconceived the evidences 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 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 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 the documents accompanying it, which he and the PDP submitted nominating him to INEC as the party’s governorship candidate.