Hon. Justice Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the suit brought by Chief Chekwas Okorie and others seeking to be recognized as authentic candidates of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) for the 2023 general election.
The applicants had approached the court following the recent Supreme Court judgement which recognised Chief Edozie Njoku and his faction as the authentic APGA leadership and APGA candidates.
Recall that Chief Chekwas Okorie and some group of persons had filed the suit insisting they are the duly nominated Presidential and National Assembly candidates of APGA submitted to INEC by Chief Njoku, the National Chairman of APGA.
In the Suit marked as FHC/ABJ/CS/1750/2022: Chief Chekwas Okorie & 2 Ors v Independent National Electoral Commission & 3 Ors, the Plaintiffs insisted that following the corrected judgment of the Supreme Court which recognised Edozie Njoku as National Chairman of APGA, that it was the said Njoku that was legally required to submit the list of APGA candidates.
They therefore prayed the Federal High Court for an Order of Mandatory Injunction compelling INEC to publish their names as candidates of APGA and/or issue them with Certificate of Return in places won by APGA.
In his judgment, Justice Omotosho held that the case constitutes a gross abuse of Court process and a deliberate attempt to mislead the court by relying on an erroneous interpretation of the Supreme Court judgment.
While delivering judgment in the said suit, the erudite Justice descended heavily on the Plaintiffs’ Counsel for attempting to mislead not just the Honourable Court but the entire public by misrepresenting the decision of the Supreme Court.
The Court wondered how the correction of an accidental slip by the Supreme Court in its Ruling of 24/3/2023 would be interpreted by any sane person to mean that the Supreme Court affirmed Edozie Njoku as the National Chairman of APGA.
He held that lawyers, as Ministers in the temple of Justice, must always uphold the truth and avoid any conduct that is capable of subjecting the Judiciary and the apex court to public ridicule.
The judge stated that the Supreme Court in its judgment of 14/10/2021 affirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Kano Division including the finding that Chief Victor Oye remains the National Chairman of APGA.
He further held that by another judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, Chief Victor Oye was further affirmed as the National Chairman of APGA.
The Federal Court concluded that by the binding judgments of the Supreme Court as well as the Court of Appeal, Kano and Abuja Divisions, it is not in doubt that it is the National Working Committee of APGA under the leadership of Chief Victor Ikechukwu Oye that are entitled to conduct primaries and submit the list of candidates that emerged thereat to INEC as candidates of APGA.
The Court thus dismissed the suit of Chief Chekwas Okorie and others for being without merit and awarded punitive cost against the Plaintiffs for wasting the precious time of the Court in instituting the frivolous suit.
Reacting to the judgment of the Federal High Court, the former National Chairman of APGA, Chief Oye stated that the judgment has vindicated his earlier position on the correct interpretation of the Supreme Court judgment.
The visibly elated National Chairman expressed his utmost confidence in the judiciary as the last hope of the common man and urged all APGA faithful to remain loyal to his leadership.
The judge, however, failed to take cognizance of the fact that the Supreme Court had ordered that the name of Victor Oye be deleted from its judgement record.
The apex court also affirmed Edozie Njoku as the authentic APGA chairman in the judgement passed on March 24, 2023.
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