Sophia Michaels
Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere Ikeagwuonu has relished his win at the Appeal Court.
Reacting, he described the Imo state governor, Hope Uzodinma as a sore loser.
Recall that Ugochinyere was affirmed as the House of Representatives member for Ideato North/Ideato South Federal Constituency of Imo State by the Appeal Court on Tuesday.
Ugochinyere was reacting to the Lagos Appeal Court ruling which affirmed his victory as a validly elected member of the House of Representatives.
In a unanimous judgement delivered on Wednesday, the panel headed by Justice Abubakar Babandi Gumel overruled the judgements of the tribunal, which had disqualified Ikenga and nullified his election on a pre-election matter of the primaries of the PDP, despite a plethora of authorities by the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal to the effect that Election Tribunals do not have jurisdiction over pre-election matters.
Speaking after the judgement, counsel to Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, Emeka Ozoani SAN, described the judgement as a victory for democracy and an end to political rascality. He said the travesty of the Tribunal judgement led to the filing of nine appeals before the Appeal Court, the highest number of appeals ever against a singular judgement in our election petition jurisprudence.
While commending the President of the Court of Appeal and the three members of the Panel, Counsel, Tochukwu Ohazuruike said, “The President of the Court of Appeal and the three Panel members deserve all the commendation for resisting the attempts of Hope Uzodimma to undermine them as he did to Justice Akpovi, who has lost all his respect for such a strange judgement he delivered after the Tribunal hearing. It is only those who believe that Hope Uzodimma stops at nothing when he wants to desecrate the judiciary will understand why this commendation is necessary and appropriate.
Reacting, Ugochinyere said God always vindicates the innocent, adding that it was not the opportunity cost for those who were killed, but it would at least show they did not die in vain.
He further stated, “Uzodimma is a sore loser. His candidate won only one polling unit out of 346 polling units. He finished a distant third in the election yet went to the tribunal to ask that he be declared the winner of the election, and the governor was spending public funds on such a shameful enterprise to undermine the judiciary. But we thank God for this day.
“We can now start the burial arrangements for my uncle, who was murdered in cold blood on January 7, so he can now rest in peace having been here till this final victory.”
He also cautioned Uzodimma to desist from sanctioning, with the “continued existence of his non-state armed group, the killing and maiming of Imo indigenes and residents as power is transient and he would answer for his crimes either here on earth or before God in heaven.”
