Supreme Court decides Okorocha, Uduaghan’s cases today

Imo's Governor, Rochas Okorocha

The Supreme Court will on Friday (today) decide the fates of Rochas Okorocha, and Emmanuel Uduaghan, governors of Imo and Delta states, respectively.

The apex court had on February 16, 2012, adjourned till today to deliver judgment in separate appeals arising from the April 2011 governorship election in the two states.

In the Imo State case, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, former governor Ikedi Ohakim, is asking the apex court to upturn the decision of the Court of Appeal, which affirmed the Election Petitions Tribunal’s dismissal of his petition against Okorocha’s election.

The tribunal had upheld the election of Okorocha of the All Progressives Grand Alliance in the April 26, 2011 governorship poll.

In the case of Delta State, Great Ogboru of the Democratic Peoples Party, appealed the decision of the Court of Appeal, Benin, which affirmed the dismissal of his petition against Uduaghan’s election by the Delta State Election Petitions Tribunal.

In his submission before the Supreme Court during the hearing of the Imo State governorship election appeal, counsel for Ohakim, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, had told the panel of justices that the PDP candidate won the election with a margin of 4,852 votes.

Olanipekun urged the panel, led by Justice Walter Onnoghen, to “allow the appeal” and “set aside the decisions of the lower courts”.

But counsel for Okorocha and the Independent National Electoral Commission, Chief Niyi Akintola, SAN, and Mr. Alex Izinyon, SAN, respectively, opposed the appellant’s submissions, and urged the court to dismiss the appeal.

Similarly, during the hearing of the Delta State governorship election appeal at the apex court, counsel for Ogboru, Dr. Nwokike Onwubiko, urged the court to allow the appeal and remove Uduaghan from office.

He contended that the court of appeal erred in law by failing to give reasons for its decision to dismiss the appeal brought by Ogboru against the verdict of the election tribunal, which upheld Uduaghan’s election.

Ogboru’s counsel maintained that Section 294(2) of the 1999 Constitution stipulated that the lower court was bound by law to give reasons for its decision.

“Decision without a reason is no judgment; reason without a decision is no judgment,” he stated.

Uduaghan’s counsel, Olanipekun, raised objections to the appellant’s submissions and asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the appeal.

In a related development, the Supreme Court, on Thursday, fixed March 5, 2012, to hear the appeal brought by the candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change in the governorship election in Bauchi State, Alhaji Maitama Tuggar, challenging the decision of the court of appeal.

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