Imo NASS Polls: Confusion as APCAccuses Appeal Panel of Compromise

•Justices declare innocence, recuse selves

•Groups seek probe of alleged leak of A’Court Justices

Wale Igbintade

There was confusion yesterday at the ongoing sitting of the State and National Assembly Appeal Court in Lagos for cases from Imo State, when counsel to the All Progressive Congress (APC), Echezona Etiaba (SAN) presented two petitions allegedly written by his clients accusing the three member panel of being compromised.

In the letter, which was read by the presiding Justice, Justice Danjuma Mohammed, the APC accused counsel to one of the appellants of being the conduit to reach the panel.

The appeal, which began sitting yesterday is headed by Justice Danjuma Mohammed, who is the presiding judge of Makurdi Division of the court of Appeal.

Other members of the panel are Justice Peter Affen from Yola Division and Justice Asmau’u Musa Mainoma, who is one of the newly appointed Justices to the Court of Appeal.

Following the development, the Justices after declaring their innocence went a step further to recuse themselves from the appeals of Imo State.

The Justices stated that it was just before Court sitting that all the justices were made to know who they were sitting with and which cases they were supposed to preside over.

Cross section of lawyers who were visibly angry at the turn of events, as all the appeals were not heard berated their colleague for using his status as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria  to present such allegation and defamatory petitions, which led the Justices to recuse themselves.

One of the aggreived lawyers, Ajuonuma Stanley called on the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC) to look into the matter and also urged the President of the court of Appeal to ensure the case is heard by men and women that can’t be compromised to complete their assignment.

He said: “The LPPC should immediately look into this kind of unprofessional conduct. He cannot accuse a fellow SAN of being in a matter when the records show that the said SAN was not anywhere involved in the matter.

“He accused justices of the Court of Appeal of having received bribes and such allegations should not go without proper investigation. I also call on the President of the Court to be more vigilant.

 “He accused PDP of compromising the justices but the appeal that was called was that of Okigwe North Federal Constituency filed by LP candidate Chikwem Okafor. So what was the PDP connection in that?”, he lamented

Meanwhile, civil society organisations comprising Lawyers in Defence of Democracy (LiDD), and Centre have called on the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, to urgently look into the alleged leakage of names of Judges that will hear Imo State Election Petition Appeals.

The groups in a joint statement condemned what they called a malicious and fabricated petition written against the newly constituted Justices of the Appeal Court sitting in Lagos and billed to hear State and National Assembly election appeals from Imo State, by the said loyalist of Governor Uzodinma and APC chieftain.

The groups wondered why accusations of compromise were levelled against the Judges who are sitting for the first time without any evidence and also falsely accusing Damian Dodo, SAN of being a lawyer to one of the Appellants and compromising the Judges even when the senior lawyer is not party or representing anyone in the case.

The Director of the Center for Judicial Integrity Monitoring led by Barr. Achi Andy urged the Appeal Court to investigate how a frivolous petition against the panel of justices was fabricated as far back of October 13, 2023 even when the judges didn’t even know who will be on the panel.

The groups alleged that by writing a petition against a panel that have not met meant an insider compromised the secrecy of the panel by leaking their names after all efforts to compromise or change them into a panel that will allegedly do Uzodimma’s bidding failed