• Friday, April 19, 2024
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Rivers APC primaries: Supreme court strikes out Senator Abe’s appeal

Okorocha: Senator Izunaso petitions NJC, CJN over alleged misconduct of Justice Abang

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed notice of appeal filed by Senator Magnus Abe, while it also struck out an appeal by the Senator.

The Senator had prayed the court to make pronouncement on the proprietary of the direct and indirect primary elections conducted by the APC in the state for the nomination of its candidate for the 2019 general elections.

However, the apex court struck out the appeal on the grounds that the notice of appeal filed by the Senator was defective and not in compliance to the order of the court.

Acting CJN, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, who delivered the unanimous decision of the 7 man panel of justice of the court held that the notice of appeal was defective because it did not contain the names and titles of parties in the matter.

Besides, the acting CJN also held that the notice of appeal offended section 285 of the 1999 constitution because amendment cannot be done to the notice of appeal in view of the fact that the 14 days required by law to file the appeal have expired.

Senator Abe had also approached the court asking it to make clarification on which of the two primary elections is authentic in the eyes of the law.

However, the APC through its counsel, Jibrin Okutekpa objected to hearing of the appeal on the grounds that names of appropriate persons affected by the suit were not listed on the notice of appeal and thereby making the appeal incompetent and incurably defective.

Justice Muhammed in the ruling, agreed with counsel to APC and struck out the appeal on the reason that the notice of appeal was defective.

The court rejected the plea by counsel to Abe, Henry Bello that the commission committed by him should not be visited on his client, adding that the notice of appeal cannot be refiled because the 14 days allowed by law to do so have expired.

 

Felix Omohomhion, Abuja