Waiting for the wheel of justice in Abia -By Okpara

Okezie Ikpeazu

There is sense in the saying by experts that the wheel of justice may appear slow in movement but grinds steadily. The lesson in this sound logic is that despite barriers occasionally mounted against the cause and course of justice delivery by mischievous minds and interest groups, there are occasions that the truth will always prevail, regardless of the time it may take. In such moments, ill-conceived antics and legal gymnasia usually come crashing, while the train of justice rolls on.

This is the lot of Abia State governor, Dr. Victor Okezie Ikpeazu and his state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). At the April governorship election in the state, Ikpeazu and Dr. Alex Otti, the candidate of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), were clearly the main contestants in the race. in which  Ikpeazu was declared winner.
Otti has ever since been at Abia Governorship Elections Petitions Tribunal seeking justice. He is challenging the result of the election in five Local Government Areas of the state, including Umuahia North, Isiala Ngwa North, Ugwunagbo, Osisioma and Obingwa, where he alleged massive electoral fraud by PDP. He is urging the tribunal to nullify Ikpeazu’s declaration and for him to be declared the rightful winner of the poll. The governor and his PDP have been putting up strategies to ensure that this does not happen.

However, matters began to take proper shape, Thursday, September 17, 2015, when the Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri, Imo State capital, which had earlier dismissed an Appeal brought to it by Chief Wole Olanipekun on behalf of Okezie Ikpeazu further dismissed two separate but related appeals subsequently filed by the PDP against Dr. Alex Otti and APGA.

All the appeals had originated from a decision of the Abia State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Umuahia which had taken bold steps to insist that all the preliminary objections filed by Okezie Ikpeazu and his PDP be taken along with the hearing of the substantive petition.
They had headed for the Court of Appeal, urging it to set aside that decision of the  Tribunal and compel it to deliver ruling on the pending motions. The purport of the Ikpeazu contention was for the Tribunal to kill the case on technical ground rather than hear it on the merit which may be detrimental to them as the case of Dr. Alex Otti is so glaring.
PDP, in one of the motions, urged the Tribunal to strike out Otti’s petition on the ground that it was not duly signed and that the necessary fees were not paid in compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010, as amended.

The Court of Appeal in a unanimous decision of the five-member panel of Justices initially struck out three out of the four issues raised by PDP for lack of merit before dismissing the two subsequent appeals.

In dismissing the appeals, the Court said that they were premature and predicated on a complaint against a ruling which the lower Tribunal had not yet delivered. The Court further stated that there was no infringement of the appellant’s right to fair hearing as the motions were rightly heard by the Tribunal before ruling was adjourned to come within the 180 days stipulated by the constitution. The Court of Appeal therefore insisted that the Appeal was lacking in merit and was a mere academic exercise.

Casual interpreters of developments at Abia tribunal may not attach much weight to the Appeal Court ruling. However, for analysts with insight into the antics of the PDP since the commencement of proceedings at the tribunal, the Thursday pronouncement holds promise for justice for the Dr. Alex Otti and the entire people of Abia in the days ahead.

Lawyers, for instance, argue that the import of the Appeal Court pronouncement is in giving effect to and affirming the sanctity of Paragraph 12 (5) of the 1st Schedule to the Electoral Act. The court, according to them, has by that heroic action, confirmed that the trial Tribunal has powers to take all preliminary motions along with the substantive petition.

According to them, the spirit and intendment of that paragraph is to suppress the mischief of delaying the election petition proceeding by ensuring that preliminary objections, whether on jurisdiction or not, raised in the course of the proceedings, did not derail the determination of the merit of a case by undue and unwarranted delays occasioned by preliminary objections.

Not even the staunchest supporters of PDP and its candidate would deny the fact that they have been caught in their game by the Appeal Court ruling. Since the commencement of trial at the Tribunal, Ikpeazu and his party have been employing delay tactics obviously to frustrate Otti and buy time so that the case could be knocked off on technical grounds.

INEC, curiously, has not helped matters, as it seems to be indulging the governor and his party. The Commission, has for instance, thwarted several orders on it by the Tribunal to produce documents asked for by the petitioners.

What is particularly annoying about  the matter is that the documents demanded from INEC were supposed to be tendered by the petitioners to prove  their case. Otti and his team, have for instance, tendered Unit by Unit Results (EC8A) and Ward Collation Results, (EC8Bs), despite objections from PDP. He has also called witnesses who were Polling Unit Agents and Ward Collation Agents to testify on his behalf. In addition, the Electoral Manual has been tendered in evidence.

This stipulates that Card Readers must be used for election. Otti has also tendered Card Reader Report. The Card Reader Data was tendered by INEC staff. It shows that Osisioma had less than 19,000 voters. Curiously, the result declared by INEC for PDP, gave it 42,000 votes in Osisioma. In Obingwa, the Card Reader showed a total vote in the region of 50,000.
Incidentally, PDP got 82,000 votes from the council. Very interestingly again, Paragraph 2.8.3 of the INEC Electoral Manual which is also admitted in evidence at the Tribunal stipulates that: “Where the total votes cast at a Polling Unit exceed the number of registered voters in the Polling Unit, the result of the poll shall be rendered null and void. Also, where the number of votes cast exceeds the number accredited, the result of the Polling Unit shall be rendered null and void”.

PDP has not been amused at the development. It is expected to show that elections took place in accordance with the law and electoral guidelines. This seems a tall order for the party, especially as the witnesses it called had established that one person signed EC8B for 8 out of 10 wards in Osisioma. The party is thus, walking a tight rope.

Captivatingly, all the parties in the suit have filed their final written addresses which are expected to be adopted by their counsels on October 14. Abians and, indeed, Nigerians are watching these beautiful moments.

•Okpara writes from Umuahia,
Abia State