Ikpeazu Expects Victory At The Supreme Court, Umeh
THE COURT OF APPEAL JUDGEMENT ON THE ABIA STATE GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION IS STILL THE MOST DISCUSSED TO PIC IN GOD'S OWN STATE.
The matter has now moved to the Supreme Court for final resolution.
Umeh Kalu, the state Attorney General and Commissioner for
Justice, hopes his principal, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, would get
justice from the Supreme Court. He spoke to Ahamefula Ogbu
and Charles Ajunwa on Abia Charter of Equity, why election
petitions are more prevalent in the South-east and performance of
Governor Ikpeazu in the last few months. He also spoke on the
ongoing judicial reforms in Abia State. Excerpts…
WHERE YOU SHOCKED BY THE COURT OF APPEAL DECISION ON THE ABIA GUBER ELECTION ?
Well, I must say I was shocked because that was not what we
were expecting. It was a shocker.
IN WHAT SENSE WAS IT A SHOCKER?
I was shocked in the sense that I have been following up
proceedings right from the tribunal to the Court of Appeal.
I am not a counsel in the matter but as the Attorney-General of the
state I should take interest in what happens in my state; so most
of the tribunal sittings I sat in and I listened to the evidence and
all that. When the tribunal judgment was equally given, I listened
to it and I have copies, analysed it and when the matter came on
appeal, the processes that were filed and the issues canvassed
were very known to me so; apart from the fact that as a member
of the PDP and ordinarily I should expect victory for Ikpeazu and
as a lawyer I felt and still feel Governor Ikpeazu has a very good
case; that Alex Otti didn’t prove his case at the tribunal and the
judgment of the tribunal in my sense was sound when they
dismissed his petition. So the Court of Appeal upturning it was a
shocker to me but as a lawyer you expect these things. When I
say a shocker, I mean I was hopeful Ikpeazu would win. So when
he didn’t win I was taken aback but ordinarily as a trained lawyer,
the courts have a way of deciding their cases and I wouldn’t
want to condemn the justices that sat. Before you get to the
Court of Appeal, you must be learned. So they have done their
bit within the knowledge available to them and the beauty of the
judiciary is that we have hierarchy of courts just like the Tribunal
sat they gave their own judgment and the Court of Appeal sat
and they gave their own judgment but there is still the almighty
Supreme Court which is the apex court where you have seven
justices.
That is the beauty of this job. So whatever you say at the level of
the Tribunal or the Court of Appeal is not final in this case; there
is still one more step further and that is where Governor Ikpeazu
has gone. So the matter is now in the domain of the Supreme
Court
HOW TRUE IS IT THAT THE COURT OF APPEAL ORDERED THAT OTTI BE SWORN IN AND WHY WAS HE NOT SWORN IN IF THE COURT SO ORDERED?
That was what we heard. You know the Tribunal judgment took
some time. It took about seven days and after delivering the
judgment the justices didn’t release the judgment. Ordinarily when
a judgment is delivered, the parties should have the judgment but
the fact that the judgment wasn’t available in written form for
about seven days gave room for speculation and that was why
people went to town with that speculation that the Tribunal said
Otti should be sworn in. I have a copy of the judgment and the
enrolled order and there is nothing like that. They didn’t say that
Otti should be sworn in but they made an order that the
certificate of return should be given to him but that does not say
he should be sworn-in. There is nothing in that judgment that said
he should be sworn-in as governor. For me, what is important is
the enrolled order which I now have and I think I am better
informed now.
PEOPLE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE ABIA CHATTER OF EQUITY. AS THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE IS THERE ANY DOCUMENT LIKE THAT ?
Yes, I have seen one but even without the document signed by
parties or Abia people, I think it makes sense that we should be
fair in the things we do in the state. As an individual, I come from
the northern part of the state. I come from Abia North and I do
know that we have had about three or so governors, both military
and civilians from that part of the state and you know the
immediate past governor, Chief T. A. Orji, was from the central
and as a member of the PDP, I know that there was agreement
among the PDP that there was need to allow somebody from the
southern part of the state to have a bite on the governorship and
that brought about the emergence of Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu. So it
was an agreement and I think it is something proper; it should be
done and Abians have agreed it should be done. They sounded it
loud and clear during the election of April 11 and 21 when we
had the two elections and the result returned Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu.
That is the voice of the people of Abia saying this is the man we
want and I equally think it is the voice of God who endorsed it.
DO YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE CANCELLATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE ELECTIONS IN SOME LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND WARDS LIKE APPEARED IN THE JUDGEMENT?
As a lawyer, I don’t want to discuss the issue of that judgment
because like I said, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has filed his appeal, so I
wouldn’t want to discuss that since it is in the domain of the
Supreme Court. We should allow the Supreme Court to look into
the issue of whatever the Court of Appeal did. I know that Dr.
Okezie Ikpeazu feels aggrieved, the PDP people feel aggrieved
and I as a PDP person I am aggrieved by that judgment and we
have done what is proper by approaching the apex court which is
the Supreme Court and that is where we are. The proper thing is
to allow the Justices of the Supreme Court to adjudicate on it
and with God on their side they are going to do justice in the
matter. So we are entirely in their hands and in the hands of God.
ARE YOU HOPEFUL THAT THE SUPREME COURT WOULD DECIDE DIFFERENTLY FROM WHAT THE COURT OF APPEAL DID ?
I am hopeful that the Supreme Court will do justice in this matter.
I have very high hopes about the Supreme Court. It is peopled by
the best brains you have in this country. Talking about justice
delivery, it is the apex court of the land. What they say is the law
and I am very hopeful. I know those that sit in the Supreme
Court, before you get to that level, you must have paid your dues.
These are people who interpret the law the way it is; so I can tell
you that the team that Okezie Ikpeazu has is the best team in this
country and their job is to espouse the law as it is before these
justices.
DO YOU HAVE ANY WORD FOR THOSE PROTESTING AGAINST THE COURT OF APPEAL DECISION ON THE GOVERNORSHIP OF THE STATE?
I would tell those who are aggrieved not to grieve like people
without hope. I know it was a shocker to those of them who saw
the victory of Okezie Ikpeazu being upturned. Normally, there
should be a reaction but for me I think they should not take it too
far. If you are aggrieved with a court decision the thing to do is
to go on appeal and that is what we have done. My appeal to
them is to remain law abiding. They should be prayerful and have
faith in God. Like I said, Okezie Ikpeazu has a team of lawyers
who have done the needful by putting together their grounds of
appeal. As I speak to you, they are compiling the record of
appeal and very soon they will file their briefs at the apex court
and the other party will also file their briefs and there will be a
hearing. The Supreme Court will look at these things and there
will be a hearing by the wise men at the Supreme Court. This is
not a time of violence but I think it is time for one to be prayerful
and in all we do we are in the hands of God and He is a God of
justice, at the end of the day the right thing will be done. Like I
keep saying, the judiciary is the last hope of the common man
and it remains so. Nobody should lose hope in the judiciary; in
every case there are two parties and one party will win. There
must be a winner and a loser and this time we lost but
remember at the tribunal we won and there is still an opportunity
for us to win so all we need to do is to do the right thing and
look up to the Supreme Court to do the right thing.
ARE YOU NOT WORRIED OR EVEN SHAKEN BY DIFFERENT JURISDICTION OF THE SAME COURT GIVING DIFFERENT RULINGS AND JUDGEMENTS BASED ON SAME FACTS?
It is disturbing and it is not the proper thing but you see, we are
different human beings. The Court of Appeal has about 16
divisions and in some of these divisions you have about five
justices, some three. Even in Lagos, I think they are up to seven.
These are human beings and they interpret the law the way they
see it but I think there should be some level of certainty in
decisions that come out of the courts and the CJN has
complained about it. He is worried, he is the father of judiciary
and he is worried just like I am as a senior lawyer and Attorney-
General of a state. When we go to court, we know the law as it
is and we should expect certain results from a certain case but
that does not mean that matters couldn’t go contrary to
expectations. When it happens there could be some
technicalities, it is not in every case that judges should be
accused of being corrupt; there are some mistakes that could
come out of a judgment and that is why we have hierarchy of
courts. If the Court of Appeal makes mistakes, there is the
Supreme Court to correct it just like if there is a mistake from the
High Court, the Court of Appeal is there to correct it. Nobody is
infallible; we are human beings and the Court of Appeal is
superintended by human beings; we are not God. It is only God
that cannot make mistake. It may be worrisome that we are
having conflicting decisions but the beauty of it is that there is the
Supreme Court and they will correct them as the father of all
courts. When they come up with a decision, it acts as a guide to
all other courts.
WHAT DO YOU THINK MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DIVERGENT RULINGS ?
There could be slips or the way they appreciate issues. I don’t
want to accuse a judge of corruption especially when there is no
empirical evidence to support it. Judges are human beings and
they do make mistakes, even the Supreme Court can review its
own decisions when they make mistakes so it is not uncommon
but the frequency might be disturbing. These things are being
discussed because at the end of every of these exercises there is
an NBA Conference where these things are discussed where the
bar and the bench meet to review these things. At the end of
2011 elections there was such a conference and I am sure there
will be one at the end of all these and they will be reviewed. Even
doctors make mistakes, it is just that those mistakes are buried
in terms of the victims and you don’t get to review them but in
the judiciary, we are in the public domain that is why it is this
way. I am not making excuses for judges but I can’t accuse a
judge of corruption without evidence like some people peddle.
Some of them come as mistakes or slips.
YOU SAID YOU EXPECT JUSTICE FROM THE SUPREME COURT AND THAT TO YOU IS TO AFFIRM IKPEAZU AS GOVERNOR ?
Yes
LOOKING AT PERFORMANCE, IKPEAZU HAS BEEN ON THE SADDLE FOR A CLOSE TO SEVEN MONTHS. CAN YOU SAY HE HAS PERFORMED OR DO YOU SEE POSSIBILITY OF HIS MEETING THE YEARNINGS OF THE STATE IN THE DEVELOPMENT?
Honestly, I don’t know how long you have been in this state now.
Okezie Ikpeazu has surpassed our expectations. Most Abians
even those in the opposition like APGA people can explain to you
what happened when the Court of Appeal came up with that
judgment. People were downcast, even those in the opposition.
You only had pockets of jubilation. Go to Aba and Umuahia, it
was a grave yard. Okezie Ikpeazu has performed within the few
months he has been on the saddle. He has touched lives and the
infrastructure in the state, putting things right even in the face of
dwindling resources. He has done excellently well as an Abian. I
think he should be given an opportunity. He has already started
well, has his eyes on the ball and I think he is going to go
places. I think Abians are expectant; we are very hopeful. The
former president was here few weeks ago I am sure you saw the
remarks he made. Even those that never gave him a chance are
singing a different tune. So go round the cities and villages and
hear what people are saying and you will know. For me as
someone who has been in this state; who was born here but for
a continuous period of unbroken eight years I have been here
and I think within the resources available and the little time he
has been on the saddle, he has done well.
ASSUMING THAT THE REVERSE BECOMES THE CASE YOU ATIKK SUPPORT THE OPPOSITION FOR THE SAKE OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATE?
I have told you that the justice of the matter is upholding the
mandate freely given by Abians to Okezie Ikpeazu and nothing
more because the people have spoken and the voice of the
people is the voice of God. I don’t want to predict what will
happen; I don’t want to go into the meat of the matter because it
is subjudice but I am hopeful because we want the best for our
state and the best for our state can only come from Okezie
Ikpeazu.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE COST OF THESE LITIGATIONS?
The cost is enormous on both sides and for me as a lawyer I
wouldn’t want to drive my colleagues out of business because
lawyers are the beneficiaries of what is happening but then what
is happening especially in the South-east is not healthy. If you go
to the north, you have fewer election petition cases. In Abia State,
we had more than 30 something cases but go to a state in the
far north like Zamfara and others where some judges that were
penciled to go and hear cases came back without hearing them
because there were no cases being heard. But here, we are
bickering to the extent that the Court of Appeal here got saddled
with cases from the South-east. We had the highest number of
cases and that is because everybody wants to be governor,
senator or House of Reps member. In Abia State, we had about
four governorship election petitions until some fizzled out and we
are left with the Otti one. We had cases of a House of Reps
member having three cases almost from all the parties and it is
not proper.
Umeh Kalu, the state Attorney General and Commissioner for
Justice, hopes his principal, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, would get
justice from the Supreme Court. He spoke to Ahamefula Ogbu
and Charles Ajunwa on Abia Charter of Equity, why election
petitions are more prevalent in the South-east and performance of
Governor Ikpeazu in the last few months. He also spoke on the
ongoing judicial reforms in Abia State. Excerpts…
WHERE YOU SHOCKED BY THE COURT OF APPEAL DECISION ON THE ABIA GUBER ELECTION ?
Well, I must say I was shocked because that was not what we
were expecting. It was a shocker.
IN WHAT SENSE WAS IT A SHOCKER?
I was shocked in the sense that I have been following up
proceedings right from the tribunal to the Court of Appeal.
I am not a counsel in the matter but as the Attorney-General of the
state I should take interest in what happens in my state; so most
of the tribunal sittings I sat in and I listened to the evidence and
all that. When the tribunal judgment was equally given, I listened
to it and I have copies, analysed it and when the matter came on
appeal, the processes that were filed and the issues canvassed
were very known to me so; apart from the fact that as a member
of the PDP and ordinarily I should expect victory for Ikpeazu and
as a lawyer I felt and still feel Governor Ikpeazu has a very good
case; that Alex Otti didn’t prove his case at the tribunal and the
judgment of the tribunal in my sense was sound when they
dismissed his petition. So the Court of Appeal upturning it was a
shocker to me but as a lawyer you expect these things. When I
say a shocker, I mean I was hopeful Ikpeazu would win. So when
he didn’t win I was taken aback but ordinarily as a trained lawyer,
the courts have a way of deciding their cases and I wouldn’t
want to condemn the justices that sat. Before you get to the
Court of Appeal, you must be learned. So they have done their
bit within the knowledge available to them and the beauty of the
judiciary is that we have hierarchy of courts just like the Tribunal
sat they gave their own judgment and the Court of Appeal sat
and they gave their own judgment but there is still the almighty
Supreme Court which is the apex court where you have seven
justices.
That is the beauty of this job. So whatever you say at the level of
the Tribunal or the Court of Appeal is not final in this case; there
is still one more step further and that is where Governor Ikpeazu
has gone. So the matter is now in the domain of the Supreme
Court
HOW TRUE IS IT THAT THE COURT OF APPEAL ORDERED THAT OTTI BE SWORN IN AND WHY WAS HE NOT SWORN IN IF THE COURT SO ORDERED?
That was what we heard. You know the Tribunal judgment took
some time. It took about seven days and after delivering the
judgment the justices didn’t release the judgment. Ordinarily when
a judgment is delivered, the parties should have the judgment but
the fact that the judgment wasn’t available in written form for
about seven days gave room for speculation and that was why
people went to town with that speculation that the Tribunal said
Otti should be sworn in. I have a copy of the judgment and the
enrolled order and there is nothing like that. They didn’t say that
Otti should be sworn in but they made an order that the
certificate of return should be given to him but that does not say
he should be sworn-in. There is nothing in that judgment that said
he should be sworn-in as governor. For me, what is important is
the enrolled order which I now have and I think I am better
informed now.
PEOPLE HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THE ABIA CHATTER OF EQUITY. AS THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE IS THERE ANY DOCUMENT LIKE THAT ?
Yes, I have seen one but even without the document signed by
parties or Abia people, I think it makes sense that we should be
fair in the things we do in the state. As an individual, I come from
the northern part of the state. I come from Abia North and I do
know that we have had about three or so governors, both military
and civilians from that part of the state and you know the
immediate past governor, Chief T. A. Orji, was from the central
and as a member of the PDP, I know that there was agreement
among the PDP that there was need to allow somebody from the
southern part of the state to have a bite on the governorship and
that brought about the emergence of Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu. So it
was an agreement and I think it is something proper; it should be
done and Abians have agreed it should be done. They sounded it
loud and clear during the election of April 11 and 21 when we
had the two elections and the result returned Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu.
That is the voice of the people of Abia saying this is the man we
want and I equally think it is the voice of God who endorsed it.
DO YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS WITH THE CANCELLATION OF THE RESULTS OF THE ELECTIONS IN SOME LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND WARDS LIKE APPEARED IN THE JUDGEMENT?
As a lawyer, I don’t want to discuss the issue of that judgment
because like I said, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu has filed his appeal, so I
wouldn’t want to discuss that since it is in the domain of the
Supreme Court. We should allow the Supreme Court to look into
the issue of whatever the Court of Appeal did. I know that Dr.
Okezie Ikpeazu feels aggrieved, the PDP people feel aggrieved
and I as a PDP person I am aggrieved by that judgment and we
have done what is proper by approaching the apex court which is
the Supreme Court and that is where we are. The proper thing is
to allow the Justices of the Supreme Court to adjudicate on it
and with God on their side they are going to do justice in the
matter. So we are entirely in their hands and in the hands of God.
ARE YOU HOPEFUL THAT THE SUPREME COURT WOULD DECIDE DIFFERENTLY FROM WHAT THE COURT OF APPEAL DID ?
I am hopeful that the Supreme Court will do justice in this matter.
I have very high hopes about the Supreme Court. It is peopled by
the best brains you have in this country. Talking about justice
delivery, it is the apex court of the land. What they say is the law
and I am very hopeful. I know those that sit in the Supreme
Court, before you get to that level, you must have paid your dues.
These are people who interpret the law the way it is; so I can tell
you that the team that Okezie Ikpeazu has is the best team in this
country and their job is to espouse the law as it is before these
justices.
DO YOU HAVE ANY WORD FOR THOSE PROTESTING AGAINST THE COURT OF APPEAL DECISION ON THE GOVERNORSHIP OF THE STATE?
I would tell those who are aggrieved not to grieve like people
without hope. I know it was a shocker to those of them who saw
the victory of Okezie Ikpeazu being upturned. Normally, there
should be a reaction but for me I think they should not take it too
far. If you are aggrieved with a court decision the thing to do is
to go on appeal and that is what we have done. My appeal to
them is to remain law abiding. They should be prayerful and have
faith in God. Like I said, Okezie Ikpeazu has a team of lawyers
who have done the needful by putting together their grounds of
appeal. As I speak to you, they are compiling the record of
appeal and very soon they will file their briefs at the apex court
and the other party will also file their briefs and there will be a
hearing. The Supreme Court will look at these things and there
will be a hearing by the wise men at the Supreme Court. This is
not a time of violence but I think it is time for one to be prayerful
and in all we do we are in the hands of God and He is a God of
justice, at the end of the day the right thing will be done. Like I
keep saying, the judiciary is the last hope of the common man
and it remains so. Nobody should lose hope in the judiciary; in
every case there are two parties and one party will win. There
must be a winner and a loser and this time we lost but
remember at the tribunal we won and there is still an opportunity
for us to win so all we need to do is to do the right thing and
look up to the Supreme Court to do the right thing.
ARE YOU NOT WORRIED OR EVEN SHAKEN BY DIFFERENT JURISDICTION OF THE SAME COURT GIVING DIFFERENT RULINGS AND JUDGEMENTS BASED ON SAME FACTS?
It is disturbing and it is not the proper thing but you see, we are
different human beings. The Court of Appeal has about 16
divisions and in some of these divisions you have about five
justices, some three. Even in Lagos, I think they are up to seven.
These are human beings and they interpret the law the way they
see it but I think there should be some level of certainty in
decisions that come out of the courts and the CJN has
complained about it. He is worried, he is the father of judiciary
and he is worried just like I am as a senior lawyer and Attorney-
General of a state. When we go to court, we know the law as it
is and we should expect certain results from a certain case but
that does not mean that matters couldn’t go contrary to
expectations. When it happens there could be some
technicalities, it is not in every case that judges should be
accused of being corrupt; there are some mistakes that could
come out of a judgment and that is why we have hierarchy of
courts. If the Court of Appeal makes mistakes, there is the
Supreme Court to correct it just like if there is a mistake from the
High Court, the Court of Appeal is there to correct it. Nobody is
infallible; we are human beings and the Court of Appeal is
superintended by human beings; we are not God. It is only God
that cannot make mistake. It may be worrisome that we are
having conflicting decisions but the beauty of it is that there is the
Supreme Court and they will correct them as the father of all
courts. When they come up with a decision, it acts as a guide to
all other courts.
WHAT DO YOU THINK MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DIVERGENT RULINGS ?
There could be slips or the way they appreciate issues. I don’t
want to accuse a judge of corruption especially when there is no
empirical evidence to support it. Judges are human beings and
they do make mistakes, even the Supreme Court can review its
own decisions when they make mistakes so it is not uncommon
but the frequency might be disturbing. These things are being
discussed because at the end of every of these exercises there is
an NBA Conference where these things are discussed where the
bar and the bench meet to review these things. At the end of
2011 elections there was such a conference and I am sure there
will be one at the end of all these and they will be reviewed. Even
doctors make mistakes, it is just that those mistakes are buried
in terms of the victims and you don’t get to review them but in
the judiciary, we are in the public domain that is why it is this
way. I am not making excuses for judges but I can’t accuse a
judge of corruption without evidence like some people peddle.
Some of them come as mistakes or slips.
YOU SAID YOU EXPECT JUSTICE FROM THE SUPREME COURT AND THAT TO YOU IS TO AFFIRM IKPEAZU AS GOVERNOR ?
Yes
LOOKING AT PERFORMANCE, IKPEAZU HAS BEEN ON THE SADDLE FOR A CLOSE TO SEVEN MONTHS. CAN YOU SAY HE HAS PERFORMED OR DO YOU SEE POSSIBILITY OF HIS MEETING THE YEARNINGS OF THE STATE IN THE DEVELOPMENT?
Honestly, I don’t know how long you have been in this state now.
Okezie Ikpeazu has surpassed our expectations. Most Abians
even those in the opposition like APGA people can explain to you
what happened when the Court of Appeal came up with that
judgment. People were downcast, even those in the opposition.
You only had pockets of jubilation. Go to Aba and Umuahia, it
was a grave yard. Okezie Ikpeazu has performed within the few
months he has been on the saddle. He has touched lives and the
infrastructure in the state, putting things right even in the face of
dwindling resources. He has done excellently well as an Abian. I
think he should be given an opportunity. He has already started
well, has his eyes on the ball and I think he is going to go
places. I think Abians are expectant; we are very hopeful. The
former president was here few weeks ago I am sure you saw the
remarks he made. Even those that never gave him a chance are
singing a different tune. So go round the cities and villages and
hear what people are saying and you will know. For me as
someone who has been in this state; who was born here but for
a continuous period of unbroken eight years I have been here
and I think within the resources available and the little time he
has been on the saddle, he has done well.
ASSUMING THAT THE REVERSE BECOMES THE CASE YOU ATIKK SUPPORT THE OPPOSITION FOR THE SAKE OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATE?
I have told you that the justice of the matter is upholding the
mandate freely given by Abians to Okezie Ikpeazu and nothing
more because the people have spoken and the voice of the
people is the voice of God. I don’t want to predict what will
happen; I don’t want to go into the meat of the matter because it
is subjudice but I am hopeful because we want the best for our
state and the best for our state can only come from Okezie
Ikpeazu.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE COST OF THESE LITIGATIONS?
The cost is enormous on both sides and for me as a lawyer I
wouldn’t want to drive my colleagues out of business because
lawyers are the beneficiaries of what is happening but then what
is happening especially in the South-east is not healthy. If you go
to the north, you have fewer election petition cases. In Abia State,
we had more than 30 something cases but go to a state in the
far north like Zamfara and others where some judges that were
penciled to go and hear cases came back without hearing them
because there were no cases being heard. But here, we are
bickering to the extent that the Court of Appeal here got saddled
with cases from the South-east. We had the highest number of
cases and that is because everybody wants to be governor,
senator or House of Reps member. In Abia State, we had about
four governorship election petitions until some fizzled out and we
are left with the Otti one. We had cases of a House of Reps
member having three cases almost from all the parties and it is
not proper.
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