The appeal which was scheduled for hearing on Tuesday could not hold following the announcement by the court registrar that the Appeal Court’s justices were attending a crucial meeting and that the court would not be sitting.
An Appeal Court sitting in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, has fixed Thursday February 24, 2022 for the hearing of an appeal filed by the National Chairman of the African Action Congress (AAC ) Omoyele Sowore, against a judgment delivered by a Federal High Court Abuja on the leadership of the party.
The appeal which was scheduled for hearing on Tuesday could not hold following the announcement by the court registrar that the Appeal Court’s justices were attending a crucial meeting and that the court would not be sitting.
The registrar therefore announced new dates for all the cases in the cause list.
Addressing journalists, the party's Legal Adviser and counsel to Sowore, Inibehe Effiong, expressed confidence in the judicial process just as he urged the party members to be resolute and resilient.
He said, “Justices of the court Appeal that are part of the panel hearing this appeal are indispose because of some official engagement that they have.
“We have been asked to come back on Thursday and we are particularly grateful that the adjourn date is quite close which invariably has reduced the burden on our part.
“We will be back on Thursday hopefully to argue our appeal. Interestingly this morning, Mr Leonard Nzenwa who has been consistently represented in this case by a team of lawyers who represented him at the Federal High Court was not in the court.
“In order words, we were served with the notice of change of counsel by Leonard. Since 2019 we have been in court and he has been represented but it is just this morning that we were hoping that our appeal will be heard that Leonard says he no longer wants his lawyer to represent him and now has a new lawyer.
“They have also filed an application for extension of time to file respondent brief which we have been served. I don't want to comment on what they are saying, when we come for hearing, we will accordingly respond to whatever argument they are canvassing.
”But I want to assure all of you that we are pursuing this matter religiously and diligently. We are on the right path. Sowore is on the path of history and his case sometimes in the future hopefully will be sighted as precedent to show a Nigerian who activated the judicial process for both the law and constitution of the party to assert his right.”
Sowore is asking the Appeal Court to set aside the judgment of the Federal High Court delivered by Justice Inyang Ekwo which declared Leonard Nzenwa as acting National Chairman on the ground of lack of jurisdiction, breach of fair hearing and improper evaluation of evidence.
Sowore had in an appeal marked CA/A/812/2019 filed by the National Legal Adviser of the party and Counsel for Sowore who is the appellant in the case, Barr. Inibehe Effiong, at the Court of Appeal prayed for the setting aside of Justice Ekwo's judgment.
At the last sitting of the court over the case in November 2021, Effiong moved an application to amend the Notice of Appeal and brief of argument.
He said the application was filed on October 14th, 2021 just as he moved for the withdrawal of the one filed on 7th July, 2020.
The application was not objected to by the counsel to the 1st respondent, Obed Agu. INEC which is the 2nd respondent was not represented in the court at the last sitting.
After the submissions by the parties in the matter, the three-man panel headed by Justice A.J Adah therefore granted the prayers as requested by Inibehe and struck out the earlier Notice of Appeal and deemed the new one as properly filed.
The court had at that time adjourned the case to 22nd February 2022 for hearing of the appeal.