2023: Federal High Court adjourns hearing on C’River APC gubernatorial candidacy

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3 years ago

A Federal High Court sitting in Calabar has adjourned the hearing on the All Progressive Congress (APC)’s governorship candidacy.

The matter with suit number FHC/CA/CS/95/2022 is between APC Governorship aspirant Senator John Owan Enoh against Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), All Progressive Congress (APC) and Governorship candidate, Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu.

The matter is on the grounds of aspirants screening, academic certificates and APC screening committee clearance.

Counsel to Senator John Owan Enoh, Awa Kalu (SAN), argued that to be qualified to run for party primaries, the aspirants must be careened by the screening committee set up by the second defendant (APC) and cleared to run for party primaries, which is a major criterion for aspirants participation in party primaries.

He further argued that “Our submission is that, based on the documents available to us, the third defendant (Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu), has not shown that he was fully cleared after screening and the plaintiff hasn’t equally indication that there was an appeal to the screening committee from the third defendant.”

Addressing Newsmen at the end of the hearing on Tuesday at the court premises, counsel to the third defendant(Prince Bassey Otu), Barrister Mike Ozekhone (SAN), remarked, “Today the proceedings in the case of Senator John Owan Enoh, against Senator Bessey Otu, the man who defeated the plaintiff Senator Enoh, with a whopping 877 votes, while Senator John Owan Enoh got a miserable 84 votes; a difference of over 8 hundred votes.

“The case came up today, and when the counsel to the plaintiff Senator Enoh started submitting, he brought in a witness from the West African Examination Council (WAEC), without telling the Court why he is bringing a witness from WAEC, what conflict he wanted to resolve by the witness as required by law.

“Meanwhile, order 4 room 1 of the Federal High Court preelection practice direction makes it clear that you can only come to court by way of originating Summons, which must be brought by way of affidavit evidence.

“The law is that he cannot now come suddenly, to bring in oral evidence by calling someone from WAEC to come and testify, we don’t know what he wants to testify about; but the law is that before he can even be allowed to testify, he must first show the contradiction he wants to address, which he has not shown.

“He cannot call aral evidence in after the matter started by originating Summons. resulting from these arguments, Enoh’s counsel said he wasn’t ready to respond to my submission, and asked for a short date. So the court has granted us a short adjournment to put our thoughts in writing, where we will sight the cases of Siku Ade and others,” he explained.

However, following the arguments of the third defendant against counsel to Senator Enoh, on the grounds of originating Summons; the presiding judge, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu ruled that the matter is adjourned to Thursday, September 8, 2022, to allow parties to produce their thoughts on the matter. The hearing continues tomorrow, September 8, 2022.

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