Sagay, Adegboruwa Faults Appeal Court Judgement , Says It Won't Stand

Don Norman Obinna


Constitutional lawyers professor Itse Sagay (SAN) and Barrister Ebun Adegboruwa have responded divergently to Appeal Court judgement on Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Abia States gubernatorial elections but reposed confidence on Supreme Court to correct the anomalies.
In an interview both legal practitioners granted exclusively to New Telegraph
and The City Reporters, Prof. Sagay was of the view that the Appeal Court
rulings on Rivers, Akwa-Ibom and Taraba were in order but cautiously
faulted that of Abia State on the grounds that he has not fully studied the
judgment, while Barr. Adegboruwa insisted that the entire process and
judgment were a miscarriage of justice.
Prof. Sagay opined that there was no election in Rivers State because
Governor Nyesom Wike, climbed to power on the blood of innocent citizens,
where lives and properties were destroyed including ballot boxes.
”When we say there was no election, it is not that there was total absence
of ballot papers, but that there were so much destruction; so much
unauthorized activities in which armed gangs were raiding the entire places
going about terrorizing people and snatching ballot boxes; driving away
electoral officers; killing everybody and took full control of the election rather
than the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and produced
their own result,” he said.
The former dean, Faculty of Law, University of Benin who maintained that
he would be surprised if there is any change at the Supreme Court, also
noted that the one in Akwa-Ibom involving, Governor Udom Emmanuel was
also very similar though not as bloody as the Rivers State.
“The election tribunal in Akwa-Ibom State made a mistake in canceling
results in 18 Local Governments and still in effect upheld the election.
“By the time you have 18 LGAs canceled, there is no way anyone can score
25%. So for that technical reason alone, they should not have given that
type of judgment. It is clear that this is substantial non-compliance. So the
tribunal had nothing to uphold once they canceled 18 LGAs,” he added.
On the ruling of the Appeal Court on Abia State gubernatorial election, the
Professor of law admitted that he has not read it fully but said that based
on what he heard that the cancellation of three LGAs: Obingwa, Osisioma
and Isialangwa and subtraction made were based on over voting and card
reader incident.
“Though it is very difficult for me to conclude but from what I heard, the
implication was that based on Zamfara State Supreme Court judgment on
over- voting issue, where it ruled that Card Reader has no binding effect
over the electoral act. If the decision of Abia State election was based on
over voting and card reader incidents, then it means that the decision of the
Appeal court concerning Abia State is in sort of danger, he said.
He further said 300, 000 genuine voters is quite large and if anything has
gone wrong in those constituencies or LGAs, the best thing to do was to
order for a supplementary election.
On his part however, except in Taraba, Barr. Adegboruwa, berated the
Appeal Court on its judgment on Rivers, Akwa-Ibom and especially, Abia
State asserting that the entire country and the legal profession are becoming
totally endangered by the decisions of the election petition tribunals and
Appeal Court.
“It’s only an emerging scenario from the 2015 elections in particular and it
is very worrisome. The judgment of the court of Appeal in respect to Abia
governorship election is very unacceptable. It is therefore important for the
Supreme Court to take the election petitions in Abia, Rivers and Akwa-Ibom
to make a statement of the global precedent to be followed in election
petition and correct all these anomalies that had encrypt into our electoral
jurisprudent,” he said.
According to him, the worst that would have happened is to allow the
people of the cancelled three local governments – Obingwa, Osisioma and
Isialangwa – to exercise the right again and to choose between Okezie
Okpeazu and Alex Otti and not for the court to take away victory from the
Governor and then passed it to the opponent
“It is totally unacceptable, I verily believed that if the election decision of the
Appeal Court in Abia State relates to over-voting then the opponent should
not benefit from that exercise because that will mean that there is an
irregularity. A decision that affirms over-voting cannot go to the benefit of
the opponent.
“I believed that at the appropriate time, given the interference of the CJN,
these decisions in respect to election in Abia State and in particular Rivers
State would be upturned by the Supreme Court,” he added.



~ Culled From City Reporters