Tina Amanda
The Rivers State National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal have dismissed the petition filed by the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, and its House of Representative candidate for Ikwerre/Emuoha Constituency, Chidi Amadi, against INEC, PDP and its candidate, Boniface Emeregwa.
The petition was challenging the electoral process of 9th March that returned Boniface Emeregwa into the House of Representative.
The petitioners claimed that the election was marred by violence, and that the APGA candidate was winning the election before INEC suspended the election, and that INEC has no power to suspend an ongoing election.
Delivering the judgement, Justice Joseph Bamgbose, dismissed the petition in its entirety for lack of substantial evidence to prove that the March 9th election which returned Boniface Emeregwa was marred by violence.
The Judge ruled that the petitioners failed to prove their case with evidence showing that the election result sheets used to declare the winner was falsified, as there is no plea backing up their evidence.
Justice Bamgbose ruled that the documents tendered by the petitioners are not relevant because they are not the makers of the result, and that the result sheets tendered have visible alterations; are not concrete and different from the result tendered by INEC before the tribunal.
The Judge also ruled that in accordance to the electoral law, INEC has the power to suspend an electoral process and resume at a later date, and awarded the cost of fifty thousand (50,000) naira each to the Respondents in the matter to be paid by the petitioners.
Counsel to PDP, Elisha Kurah, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, told our correspondent, Tina Amanda, that the judgement is well deserved as the whole legal issue canvassed were considered holistically by the tribunal.
He added that the petition was statute-barred having been filed about forty (40) days after the announcement of the 9th March election.
He stressed further that the tribunal looked at the merit of the petition and discovered that both the documents and witnesses presented by the petitioner were not credible.
Also, Austin Ugorji, Counsel to the 2nd Respondent Boniface Emeregwa, said the judgement speaks volume for his client who was meritoriously voted for by his people.
Achinike Williams-Wobobo, Counsel to petitioners, said he would look into the judgement with his client to determine if there are areas of the judgement they will appeal on.
