Battle for Abia: Ikpeazu’s sack remains valid – Court

ABUJA – Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, declined to hear an application for stay of execution of the June 27 judgment that sacked Governor Okezie Ikpeazu from office. The Judge said he no longer had jurisdiction to decide Ikpeazu’s application for stay of execution since the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal is already seized with facts of the case.

Consequently, he directed both Ikpeazu and the beneficiary of the judgment, Mr. Uche Ogar, to go to the appellate court for the resolution of the governorship logjam in Abia State. Justice Okon Abang had on Monday, adjourned to hear the motion as well as to decide whether or not he has the powers to set aside the ex-parte order by a High Court in Abia State that stopped the Chief Judge of the state from swearing in Mr. Ogah as governor. More so, Justice Abang said he would also decide the merit of an oral application by Ikpeazu’s lead counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, for it to set aside the Certificate of Return the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, issued to Ogah. The Judge was to also determine whether the provisions of Section 143(1) of the Electoral Act applied to the judgment he delivered against Ikpeazu on June 27. The court had at the last adjourned date, dismissed as lacking in merit, an application that sought to void the enrolled order of the judgment. Meanwhile, at the resumed hearing on Friday, Justice Abang noted that both Ikpeazu and Ogah conceded to the existence of another motion for stay of execution before the appellate court. The court said there was nothing for it to stay since INEC had already executed the order it made on June 27 by issuing Certificate of Return to Ogah as it was directed to do. Similarly, the court refused an application for stay of execution of the judgment which was filed by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Justice Abang said Ikpeazu’s sack remained valid until it is set-aside by a higher court. “The order of the court subsists until set aside by the Court of Appeal. “Therefore, the INEC lawfully issued Certificate of Return to Dr. Sampson ogah as it was in line with the judgment of this court”, the judge held. Ikpeazu’s lawyer, Olanipekun, SAN, had urged the Judge to hands-off the matter and transmit the records of the proceedings to the appellate court. However, Ogah’s lead counsel, Dr. Alex Iziyon, SAN, while admitting that the appellate court has seized jurisdiction of the matter, urged the court to rule on pending applications before it, especially on alleged abuse of court process by Ikpeazu. Iziyon told the court that Ikpeazu went and obtained a restraining order from another high court at Osisioma in Abia State that prevented Ogah from being sworn in as governor. He stressed that Ikpeazu got the restraining order from the Abia court when his motion for stay of execution was already pending before the court in Abuja. Ogah accused Ikpeazu of resorting to “self help”. Despite Iziyon’s persuasive submissions, Justice Abang declined to take further step on the matter, even as he directed both parties to go and ventilate their grievances at the appellate court. Justice Abang had in his judgment, ordered Ikpeazu to vacate his office, even as he directed INEC to immediately issue a fresh Certificate of Return to Ogah who came second in the December 8, 2014, gubernatorial primary election of the PDP. Although INEC had since issued Certificate of Return to Ogah, however, another court in Abia State restrained the Chief Judge from swearing him in. Nevertheless, Ikpeazu, through his lawyers, re-approached the high court, praying it to set-aside its order dated June 27 that led to the issuance of Certificate of Return to Ogah. Olanipekun urged the court to take judicial notice that INEC issued Certificate of Return to Ogah on June 30, despite the fact that it was served with Ikpeazu’s notice of appeal and application for stay of execution at exactly 12:50am on June 28. He contended that INEC acted wrongly by going ahead to issue the Certificate to Ogah, two days after it was served with the appeal processes. Olanipekun told the court that his client has filed “a comprehensive and elaborate notice of appeal”, and is “desirous of speedy and expeditious determination of the matter”