The chairman of the Akwa Ibom Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, Justice Adam Onum, has pledged fairness to all parties and access to the media in the discharge of the tribunal’s duties. He further stressed that election tribunal judgments would be based on facts established before it.
The chairman of the Akwa Ibom Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, Justice Adam Onum, has pledged fairness to all parties and access to the media in the discharge of the tribunal’s duties. He further stressed that election tribunal judgments would be based on facts established before it.
The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) is challenging the re-election of Godswill Akpabio, who had earlier bribed the former chairman of the party in the State to accept the election results.
Despite Justice Onum’s pledge, the members of his tribunal, who have been accused of hobnobbing with Governor Akpabio and reportedly staying in a Hotel owned by someone fronting for the governor, are facing legitimacy problems, leading the judge to seek to emphasize their objectivity.
The tribunal Chairman disclosed these while addressing parties to the petitions during the inaugural public sitting of the Tribunal on Monday in Uyo, Akwa Ibom capital.
“We crave your indulgence to always moderate our environment with this self evidenced truth so that we can conduct the trials without any form of inhibition,” he said, adding, “We believe that all the lawyers are aware of the rules of the game, including the facts that election petitions are sui generis.”
For the journalists, Justice Onum stated that the proceedings of the court would be made available and assured them they were free to secure certified true copies of proceedings.
“In this way our records are not likely to be misrepresented to the general public on any occasion,” he said.
The chairman said that while they were to handle only the governorship election, they had only two petitions to handle in which some ex parte applications had already been entertained.
Responding, Mr Bayo Ojo, the defence counsel for Chief Godswill Akpabio and Mr. Nsima Ekere, assured the chairman that he and his team would do their humble best to cooperate with the court.
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Justice Onum granted two prayers in the motion on notice filed by the petitioner and candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Senator John Akpanudoedehe in suit number EPT/AKS/GOV/M/15/2011.
In the days before the governorship election in the state, a plot to keep Mr. Akpanudoedehe out of the governorship race, which seemed to have the approval of Abuja, played out between the federal capital and Uyo. Mr. Akpanudoedehe was arrested and re-arrested by the police in Abuja, and eventually flown to Akwa Ibom, where a judge who confessed to having no jurisdiction to hear the charges against the CAN candidate remanded the Senator in prison custody for 14 days.
The law upon which that decision was based was passed by the State House of Assembly at the instance of Governor Akpabio, who wanted the power to jail anyone for up to 30 days without trial. The House altered the validity of the power to a period of 14 days and the judge promptly used it to throw Akpanudoedehe behind bars when he should have been on the streets campaigning for the governorship.
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In a ruling today that suggested he would be fair, Justice Onum ordered INEC to allow the petitioners access to carry out electronic scanning and to bring in forensic experts to inspect polling materials.
The counsel to Senator Akpanudoedehe, Mr Tayo Olatubosun, commended the chairman for granting their prayers adding that they would not go beyond the order granted.
Members of the governorship election tribunal are Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo of Lagos state High Court and Justice Ajoke Adepoju of the High court of Federal Capital Territory.
The governorship tribunal in Akwa Ibom is another key test for Nigeria’s judiciary which, in the past couple of years, has reversed many elections.
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