As The Enugu Division Of The Nigeria's Court Of Appeal Is Widely Accused Of Being Soaked In Judicial Iniquities, Intersociety Demands For Your Distinguished Council's Investigations Into The Administrative Conducts Of The Justices Posted To The Division & The Judgment In: CA/E/EPT/66A/2008 & CA/E/EPT/66B/2008
Honourable Justice Aloysius Katsina Alu
Chairman, National Judicial Council &
Chief Justice of Nigeria
The NJC Headquarters
Supreme Court Complex
Three-Arms- Zone
FCT, Abuja
Your Lordship, Above subject matters refers.
Background Information
On April 21, 2007, Barrister Mrs. Edith Ejezie of the ANPP and wife of the ANPP's governorship candidate in the February 2010 governorship poll in Anambra State, Southeast Nigeria, Ichie Mike Ejezie, and one Chief Raphael Okeke of the PDP, among other political parties' candidates, went to poll to contest for the Anambra East/West Federal Constituency Seat, and at the end of the exercise in the area's 25 electoral wards, the Independent National Electoral Commission, declared the said Chief Raphael Okeke winner. Unsatisfied, Mrs. Edith Ejezie approached the Anambra State National Legislative Election Tribunal to challenge what she considered to be wrongful declaration of her main opponent, Chief Okeke of the PDP. The matter lasted at the Tribunal from May 2007 to May 2008, a period of one year. At the end, the Tribunal, headed by Honourable Justice James Abriyi, in its landmark judgment, delivered on May 15, 2008, held that Chief Okeke was not validly elected. It also made a finding of fact that Mrs. Edith Ejezie scored the highest number of lawful votes cast, by scoring 18,694 valid votes as against Chief Okeke's 6,838 valid votes. But the Tribunal erroneously refused to return Mrs. Edith Ejezie as validly elected, having scored the highest number of lawful votes cast. Instead, it reportedly went outside its scope by ordering that a fresh poll be held in the Anambra West area of the Constituency, whereas in legislative election, what is required is not spread, but highest number of lawful votes.
These resulted to lodging of the main and cross appeals by the duo of Chief Raphael Okeke and Mrs. Edith Ejezie at the Registry of the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division on 4th day of June 2008. Mrs. Edith Ejezie prayed the Court to uphold the Tribunal's main decision and set aside the issue of her non-return as validly elected and a re-run in the Anambra West part of the Constituency, while Chief Okeke urged the Court to dismiss the entire decisions and uphold his INEC's declaration. The matter suffered twelve adjournments before we got notice of its pendency in May 2010, during our investigation into the 2007 elections' cases that were still pending before the various Divisions of the Court of Appeal in Nigeria, especially the Enugu Division. Even after we have adopted it as our case-study and written severally to the Court of Appeal President, the matter further suffered five more adjournments from May 25, 2010, when we wrote our first letter, to 14th day of December 2010, when the yam-peeled judgment was delivered. Prior to this judicially suicidal judgment, the Court of Appeal President, via the Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal, wrote us on the 17th day of August 2010 over the said pending cases including the instant case, and the Attorney General of the Federation & Minister for Justice, also wrote us to inform us that his office had written to the Court of Appeal President, asking him to take care of our third letter to him, dated 6th day of August 2010. The AGF letter was dated 31st day of August 2010.
Intersociety Demands For NJC Investigations Into The Administrative Conducts Of The Justices Posted To Enugu Division Over Election Judgement (http://www.saharareporters.com/article/intersociety-demands-njc-investigations-administrative-conducts-justices-posted-enugu-divisi)