Constitutional lawyers, Prof. Itse Shegay (SAN) and Barrister Olu-Ebun
Adegboruwa, have responded divergently to the Court of Appeal judgment
on Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Abia States gubernatorial elections.
They however reposed confidence on Supreme Court to correct the anomalies.
In an interview both legal practitioners granted, Prof. Sagay was of the view that the
Court of Appeal rulings on Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Taraba State were in
order but cautiously faulted that of Abia State on the grounds that he
has not fully studied the judgment, while Adegoruwa insisted that the
entire process and judgment were a miscarriage of justice.
Prof. Shegay 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.
He said: “When we say there was no election, it is not that there was
total absence of ballot papers, but that there were so much
destructions, 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 and produced their own result.”
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 that of Rivers State.
He said: “The election tribunal in Akwa Ibom State made a mistake in
canceling results in 18 Local Governments and still in effect uphold the
election.
Sagay said: “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.”
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
based on what he heard that the cancellation of three LGAs of Obingwa,
Osisioma and Isialangwa and subtraction made were based on over voting
and card reader incident.
He said: “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.”
Sagay 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, Barrister 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.
He said; “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.”
According to Adegboruwa, 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 pass it to the opponent.
He said: “It is totally unacceptable. I verily believe 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 believe 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.”
