Appeal Court Adjourns Ruling on Ozigbo, Uba Case

By Nseobong Okon-Ekong

The Court of Appeal Enugu Division has today, Wednesday, August 25, 2021, adjourned its ruling on the appeal brought before it by Mr Valentine Ozigbo and the Peoples Democratic Party against Senator Ugochukwu Uba & two others.

Recall that on July 5,, Senator Ugochukwu Uba, who purportedly emerged as Anambra governorship candidate of the PDP in a parallel primary, instituted a suit against the PDP, its candidate, Valentine Ozigbo and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), wherein he challenged Ozigbo’s candidature for the November 6, 2021 governorship election.

Barely 24 hours after Senator Uba instituted the suit, Justice O. A. Nwabunike granted an ex parte injunction restraining INEC from carrying out their constitutional duty and also abridged the time within which the Defendants are legally obliged to file their defence from 42 days to only three days in violation of Order 16 Rule 1(2) of the Anambra State High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019.

Despite the apparent hardship created by this strange ex parte order, the judge, on the day of the hearing, being July 16, denied the defendants time to respond to the processes served on them and proceeded with the hearing of the plaintiff’s case and delivering judgement.

Mr Valentine Ozigbo, the candidate of the PDP, however, appealed the said judgment with an application for a stay of execution that was granted by the Court of Appeal on Monday, August 2.

At sitting at the Court of Appeal on Wednesday, the attention of the panel of vacation Justices which was presided by Honourable Justice Dongban-Mensem, the President of the Court of Appeal, was drawn by Mr Alex Ejesieme (SAN) the lead Counsel to Mr Valentine Ozigbo to some motions filed in the course of instituting the suit, which events have however overtaken. The particular motions were sought to be withdrawn, and the court graciously obliged the PDP and subsequently struck them out.

The Court of Appeal, thereafter, adjourned for judgment on a date to be communicated to the parties.