The management of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) below the chairmanship of Edozie Njoku has petitioned the Nationwide Judicial Council (NJC) over a judgement delivered by Justice J.Okay Omotosho on the management feud rocking the social gathering.
Founder and chairman of Board of Trustees (BOT) of the social gathering, Chief Chekwas Okorie disclosed this at a press briefing held in Enugu.
Okorie famous that Justice Omotosho of the Federal Excessive Court docket, Abuja delivered a verdict on the management tussle within the social gathering on November 20, 2024 when the same case was nonetheless pending on the Supreme Court docket.
He added that within the judgement, the Justice ordered the Impartial Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC) to withdraw its recognition of Edozie Njoku because the nationwide chairman of APGA and substitute him with one Sly Ezeonwuka.
Happening reminiscence lane, Okorie recalled {that a} five-man panel of justices of the Supreme Court docket delivered a unanimous judgement upholding Edozie Njoku because the nationwide chairman of the social gathering.
He stated regardless of the judgement, INEC which was a celebration to the go well with refused to obey the judgement, stating that the fee was nevertheless pressured to recognise Edozie as chairman after a court docket order.
Okorie famous additional that Justice Maguda convicted the chairman of INEC, Prof Yakubu Mahmood and a former factional nationwide chairman of the social gathering, Victor Oye for contempt of court docket however delayed the sentencing out of leniency to permit the contemnors the altitude to purge themselves of contempt.
He stated it was unlucky that whereas the Supreme Court docket was but to ship judgement on go well with delivered to it by Victor Oye and Mr. Sly Ezeonwuka, Justice Omotosho delivered a judgment on November 20, 2024.
“APGA has taken the civilized step of submitting the social gathering’s petition to the NJC whereas patiently awaiting the judgement of the Supreme Court docket” he said.
He expressed optimism that the NJC which is saddled with the duty to make sure that Judicial officers adhere to the ethics of their jobs will look into the petition.
LEADERSHIP experiences that involved Nigerians who’ve been following the unwinding and protracted management trials in numerous Nigerian courts noticed one other dimension to the matter when Justice Omotosho delivered judgment on the APGA management dispute.
In his ruling, the decide accused the Impartial Nationwide Electoral Fee, INEC, of meddling within the inner affairs of APGA and ordered the Fee to withdraw its recognition of Chief Edozie Njoku because the Nationwide Chairman of APGA and substitute him with Mr Sly Ezeonwuka, the non-public assistant of Governor Chukwuma Soludo, because the Nationwide Chairman of the Social gathering.
Recall that on the twenty fourth of March, 2023, a 5-man panel of the Justices of the Supreme Court docket delivered a closing unanimous judgment upholding Chief Edozie Njoku because the Nationwide Chairman of the Social gathering.
The apex court docket unequivocally affirmed that the purported elimination of Chief Edozie Njoku by the Excessive Court docket of Birnin Kudu in Jigawa State was not justiciable, referring to a plethora of Supreme Court docket authorities.
INEC, which was a celebration to the go well with, refused to obey the clear and unambiguous judgment of the Supreme Court docket.
After a number of official communications to INEC, which included a direct service of the enrolled order of the judgment by the Chief Bailiff of the Supreme Court docket, the Fee remained adamant.
Two members of the Nationwide Working Committee of APGA approached the FCT Excessive Court docket 40, Bwari to hunt the enforcement of the Supreme Court docket judgment as supplied by the 1999 structure of the Federation Republic of Nigeria as amended, that any court docket of file beneath has the mandate to implement the judgment of the Supreme Court docket within the occasion of non compliance by any of the events.
In the middle of trial, the court docket dominated on a movement and ordered that no social gathering to the go well with earlier than it ought to conduct congresses, conventions, and primaries pending the willpower of the go well with.
Oye nevertheless proceeded to conduct a celebration conference in Awka, Anambra State the place they elected one Mr Sly Ezeonwuka as APGA nationwide chairman.
The Njoku-led APGA promptly filed types 48 and 49 to commit Chief Victor Oye and Prof Yakubu Mahmood, the chairman of INEC, to the Correctional Middle for contempt of court docket.
On the sixth of June, 2023, Hon. Magudu of the FCT Excessive Court docket 40, Bwari delivered a nicely thought-about judgment in favour of Chief Edozie Njoku and members of his Nationwide Working Committee because the genuine management of APGA in enforcement of the Supreme Court docket judgment.
On the twenty ninth of November 2023, Hon. Justice Magudu convicted Prof Yakubu Mahmood and Chief Victor Oye for contempt of court docket however delayed sentencing out of leniency to permit the contemnors the latitude to purge themselves of contempt.
Chief Oye once more proceeded to the Court docket of Attraction to problem each the judgment on the substantive matter of the enforcement of the Supreme Court docket judgment and the judgment on contempt of court docket.
On the twenty sixth of June, 2024, a 3-man Justices of the Court docket of Attraction resolved all the ten grounds of enchantment in favour of APGA below Chief Edozie Njoku as nationwide chairman.
It was after unanimous judgment of the Court docket of Attraction that INEC lastly complied with the Supreme Court docket judgment, which enforcement was affirmed by the Court docket of Attraction.
Chief Victor Oye and Mr. Sly Ezeonwuka continued to the Supreme Court docket to problem the judgment of Court docket of Attraction.
On the 4th of November, a 5-man panel of Justices of the Supreme Court docket heard the fits and movement introduced to it. The apex court docket reserved judgment on a date to be communicated to all events.
Having all these particulars in place, Okorie described Justice Omotosho’s November twentieth, 2024 ruling as a rebellious, damning judgment that’s, in line with him, tantamount to pre-empting the Supreme Court docket of Nigeria.
