…Says higher courts will vitiate the court judgment
The All Progressives Congress (APC) camp backed by the National Working Committee (NWC) which was sanctioned by a high court in Port Harcourt for holding congresses against court order has reacted, saying it was mere plot by Gov Sim Fubara with detractors against the Tony Okocha-led executive council.
A high court judge, Godwin Obomanu, had Friday, December 20, 2024, nullified the local councils and state congresses conducted by the Party and nullified the inauguration with a N10m penalty.
The APC in Rivers State has been under two factions led by Okocha on one side and Emeka Beke on the other. Beke executive committee (Exco) was disbanded when Bola Ahmed Tinubu took over power as President of Nigeria and inaugurated Okocha as chairman of a caretaker committee.
The Beke camp went to court and the court sacked the Caretaker committee, but the NWC still fully endorsed it and worked with it, till congresses were conducted and the winners emerged unopposed, and were sworn in last week.
This action seemed to get the court angry into nullifying the congresses, slamming N10m penalty on the group heavily backed by the FCT Minister.
Now, the EXCO led by Okocha (and backed by Abdullahi Ganduje) has reacted, saying there is a plot to thwart the congresses. The statement by the newly-inaugurated state publicity secretary, Chibike Ikenga, said the plot was by some allegedly frustrated collaborators from within the APC and Gov Fubara.
Incidentally, the Okocha-led team said the court order is targeted at President Tinubu by allegedly making it impossible for the party to successfully carry out its activities and programmes through the instrumentality of the Rivers State High Courts and some ‘compromised Judges’ who he said have become appendages to the executive arm of the state government.
This accusation and suspicion seemed to tally with what was also said of Okocha by the Beke and Chibuike Amaechi-led APC when they accused Okocha of working with the then Gov Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to undo the then APC.
This was to be confirmed when Tinubu won and appointments were to be distributed and it was made clear that Wike and Okocha worked closely an alliance the Amaechi faction said held the then mainstream APC down.
Now, Okocha-led executive is accusing the other side of same game, which may one day also turn out to be true.
Now, the Okocha-led APC recalled thus: “Sometime in July 2024, after the APC announced its congresses in Rivers State for October 2024, some persons on the pay role of the Gov Fubara of Rivers State, who claimed to be members of State Executive Committee of the APC, ran to the Rivers State High Court (before Hon. Justice G. Ollor) to obtain an Interim Order of Ex Parte Injunction on 22th August,2024 in suit No PHC/3699/CS/2024 in a suit named Peter Ohochukwu vs His Excellency, Abdulahi Ganduje & Ors., restraining APC congresses. After they secured the orders, they went to sleep and took no further steps in that case.
“Consequently, the APC rescheduled its Congresses to November 2024, in deference to the Interim Orders of the Rivers State High Court.”
He said, however, the APC appealed to the Court of Appeal in No: CA/PH/371/2024 challenging the jurisdiction of the Rivers High Court to dabble into the domestic affairs of a political party. He said that appeal is fixed for February 2025 for definite hearing.
He went on: “On November 15, 2024, however, the Court of Appeal set aside the said order of Interim Injunction restraining the APC from holding its Congresses, which paved way for APC to conduct its ward congresses on the November 16, 2024.
“Aggrieved by the Order of the Court of Appeal staying the execution of the interim order of injunction and the subsequent conduct of APC Ward Congresses on 16/11/2024, three other agents of the Gov Fubara ran again to the Rivers State High Court on November 19, 2024, this time before Obomanu who was just elevated by Gov Fubara this year, to obtain another fresh order of interim injunction in suit No: PHC/3859/CS/2024. As usual, the Rivers State High Court granted a fresh order of interim injunction (ex parte) against the same congresses of a political party, the APC.”
Read also: Rivers crisis: Court nullifies Rivers factional APC congresses, inaugurations
Court not served:
The statement claimed that the court processes and the interim order of injunction were never served on the Defendants. “Curiously, a Bailiff who falsely stated that he obtained the interim order of Court from Port Harcourt on 22/11/2024, also claimed that he personally travelled to Abuja to serve the process at about 2.30pm and returned to Port Harcourt before 4.00pm on same day to depose to an Affidavit of Service. The Court had no recourse to the Counter Affidavit of the Defendants that they were not served and that no processes were pasted at the gate of the APC office in Abuja.”
Nonetheless, he stated, the APC immediately filed an appeal which was duly entered before the Court of Appeal on the November 25, 2024, as appeal No: CA/PH/523/2024: APC vs. NDIKE & Ors. challenging the jurisdiction of the Rivers State High Court to entertain the matter and to make the interim order. “Despite the appeal challenging its jurisdiction, the application of APC pending before the Court of Appeal for stay of Proceedings and Execution of the Order, Justice Obomanu insisted on continuing with the case. Every attempt to make him respect the hierarchy of Court and the processes of the Court of Appeal was rebuffed.”
Today, statement went on, December 20, 2024, the 20th day of December, 2024, the party accused the judge of using torch light to deliver his ruling. The statement said the judge decided to set aside the congresses of the APC as well as slamming them with N10m penalty.
The APC said it has instructed its lawyers to take steps to apply to the Court of Appeal to set aside the proceedings of the Rivers State High Court which they said were held in total disregard and disrespect for the processes pending before the Court of Appeal.
“The proceedings and actions of the Rivers State High Court were not only an afront to the Court of Appeal, it was judicial impertinence to say the least. We hope that, someday, consequences will begin to apply to judicial impertinence.
“The APC remains undaunted by the vexatious use of the Rivers State High Court against its activities; It will continue to provide constructive opposition and criticism against the maladministration and intimidation of the opposition party by Gov Fubara led government in Rivers State.
“We urge all APC members to remain calm, and have faith in the judiciary, especially as the Rivers State High Court is not the final Court on the matter but a court of first instance.
“We further enjoin all our party members to see this latest action by willing tools working hand in-glove with our detractors to frustrate our party will be very momentary and will be vitiated sooner than later by the superior courts.”
The state’s judiciary has always been so accused by the opposition.
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