Abia guber: How Ikpeazu survived legal hurdle again

For one who has not had respite after winning the 2015 governorship election in Abia State, yesterday’s Appeal court judgment in favour of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu may have made him the proverbial cat with nine lives. His one year old administration has been fraught with many legal battles but he keeps surviving amid all odds.
Yesterday, respite came Ikpeazu’s way again, when the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, set aside the judgment of Justice Abang which removed him in office. In a unanimous judgment, the court held that the originating summons through which the case was filed at the High Court was not signed and therefore invalid. Justice Ibrahim Shatta Bdliya‎, who read the lead judgment, held that there was no cause of action as at December 27, 2014, when the case was filed because the tax receipts which Justice Abang relied on heavily had not been submitted to the PDP. The court further held that Justice Abang made prejudicial statements‎ in the course of the judgment.

Justice Philomena Ekpe, who was among the panel of judges also said Abang ought to have transferred the motion to it in line with time-honoured doctrine of stari decisis. She said Mr. Abang wrongfully interpreted the provisions of order 4 (10) and (11) of the Court of Appeal rules when he ruled that the said provisions were only applicable to an interlocutory ruling of lower court and when a final judgment in a suit had been delivered. The judges held that Abang did not have jurisdictions to interpret the provisions of the Court of appeal being the rules of a superior court, and that he “deliberately stood the law on its head” by justifying jurisdiction to entertain the motion when appeal had been filed.
The Court of Appeal also dismissed the appeal by Nwosu, ruling that the fact that Ogah failed to sign the result of the primary election did not take away his right to protest against it by approaching the throne of justice for redress.
On July 27, 2016, Ikpeazu was sacked by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja over alleged falsification of tax papers. Delivering judgment in the suit filed by Uche Ogah, who came second in the 2014 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Abia governorship primaries, Justice Abang ordered Ikpeazu, to vacate office immediately for contesting the primaries based on false information. He also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately issue a Certificate of Return to Ogah.
Ikpeazu’s troubles started immediately he was declared winner of the PDP governorship primaries in Abia. Ogah and other aspirants were aggrieved by the outcome of the exercise and dragged him to court.
In suit no FHC/ABJ/CS/1086/2014, the aggrieved aspirants challenged his eligibility to contest the primaries, alleging that he did not pay his taxes for years 2011, 2012 and 2013 as at when due, alleging that his taxes for the three years were paid on same day. But Ikpeazu challenged the jurisdiction of the court, insisting that the matter ought to have been filed in Abia State but the objection was  over-ruled. However, the Appeal Court agreed with him that the suit ought to have been filed at an Abia State High Court.  The matter proceeded to the Supreme Court, where five justices of the apex court led by Justice Mohammed Muntaka-Coomassie affirmed the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court to hear the matter. Consequently, the justices returned the case to the Federal High Court for expedited hearing. Ogah, had in his suit, contended that based on Article 14(a) of Part IV of the PDP Electoral Guidelines for Primary Elections and Section 87(4) (B) of the Electoral Act, 2010, Ikpeazu was not qualified to contest the December 8, 2014, governorship primary poll in the state because he presented a fake tax clearance certificate in his nomination form.




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