Tension in Imo as Supreme Court likely to deliver review judgment today

There is tension in Imo State as the Supreme Court is likely to today, Monday deliver judgment in the application for judgment review filed by the sacked Imo State Governor, Emeka Ihedioha and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Last week, the court delivered a similar judgement in the application filed by sacked Bayelsa State governor-elect, David Lyon and the All Progressives Congress, APC.

The case, however, did not end in favour of the applicants as the court refused to reverse itself but rather, upheld its earlier judgement that installed Peoples Democratic Party, PDP’s Douye Diri as governor.

APC and Lyon’s lawyers, Chief Afe Babalola SAN and Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN were also fined for bringing the application before the court.

In today’s case, Ihedioha and PDP’s application, filed by Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN)-led legal team is praying the apex court to set aside its judgment as a nullity as it was obtained by fraud in a suit of appeals Nos: SC. 1462/2019; SC/1470/2019; CA/OW/GOV/05/2019 and petition No: EPT/GOV/IM/08/2019 between Senator Hope Uzodinma of the APC and Emeka Ihedioha, the Peoples Democratic Party and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Ihedioha submitted that “the Appellants/Respondents (Uzodinma), fraudulently misled this court into holding that a total of 213,495 votes were unlawfully excluded from the votes scored by the 1st appellant/respondent in the gubernatorial election of March 9, 2019 in Imo State.

“The first appellant/Respondent admitted under cross-examination that he was the person (and not the third Respondent [INEC] or any of its officials) who computed the result that gave him the 213,495 votes alleged to have been excluded from his total votes in the election.”

However, in his objection dated February 6, 2020, Uzodinma told the court to strike out the application filed by the PDP and its candidate, Ihedioha.