The group regretted that it had been eight days after the judgment was delivered yet the plaintiff had been denied certified true copy despite applying for it, wondering if the judgment was not ready, from where did Justice Okeke read her judgment from.
A civic organisation, the Foundation For Good Governance And Citizens Justice In Akwa Ibom State, has condemned the refusal of Justice Agatha Okeke of the Federal High Court, Uyo, to release certified true copy of the full judgement on the certificate forgery case against the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Umo Eno, to enable the plantiff to appeal the judgment.
The group regretted that it had been eight days after the judgment was delivered yet the plaintiff had been denied certified true copy despite applying for it, wondering if the judgment was not ready, from where did Justice Okeke read her judgment from.
The group alleged that delaying to make the certified true copy of the full judgement to the plantiff could rob him the opportunity to appeal against it since it was a pre-election matter.
The foundation stated this in a release on Friday, signed by Mr. Nse Ibanga Esq and Barr. John Edemidem.
Titled: "A Call on Justice Agatha Okeke to release the judgement on the certificate forgery case against Umo Eno, eight (8) days after delivery," the group insisted that judgment was unsatisfactory and it intended to prevail on the Plaintiff to appeal against it.
The statement partly read, "We, the undersigned are constrained by circumstances surrounding the continuous delay to release certified true copy of the judgement given by Justice Agatha Okeke, on the certificate forgery case between Mr Akan Okon versus Umo Eno, at the Federal High Court, Uyo since Friday November 11, 2023.
"This is eight (8) days since the judgment was delivered yet all efforts to obtain certified true copy of the judgement have proven abortive . We do hereby urge the learned judge to release the full judgement to allow parties involved in the case access to it and to decide on the way forward
"We state categorically here that the November 11, 2022, judgement delivered by Justice Agatha Okeke of the Federal High Court, Uyo, on the certificate forgery case between Mr Akan Okon, the Plaintiff, and Umo Eno, the defendant, was unsatisfactory and we intend to prevail on the Plaintiff to appeal this judgement, but we are hampered by the apparent refusal of relevant judicial officers to follow due process and timeously release certified true copy of the judgement to the parties.
"Akan Okon, a contestant in the May 25 Akwa Ibom State Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship primary, dragged Umo Eno, the governorship candidate of the PDP to court, over allegations that he (Eno) is parading forged WAEC certificate in his bid to actualise his governorship ambition.
"Other allegations with concrete and undeniable evidence bothered on falsification of date of birth. To say the least, Justice Okeke's judgement did not only shock millions of citizens across the country but further deepened the distrust of the common people for the judiciary.
"Nevertheless, our intention for this statement is not to debate over the merit of the said judgement but to call on the learned judge and any other relevant judicial officers to release the certified true copy of the full judgement so that parties involved in the case can have access to it and decide on the way forward. Upon a careful study of the judgement, any party not satisfied has the liberty to appeal it."
It added, "however, we have it on good authority that since the judgement was delivered eight (8) days ago on Friday November 11, the Plaintiff's legal team has made several efforts to get the full judgement in view of the fact that the case being a pre-election matter is time-bound, but was repeatedly told that the judgement was not ready.
"We are therefore left to wonder where Justice Agatha got the judgement she read on Friday from if the full judgement is not ready eight days (8) after she delivered it.
"We are aware of the fact that it has become a common practice for politicians involved in high-profile cases like this to try to manoeuvre the judicial process with the aim of aborting justice.
"As citizens, who are very much interested in the case, we will resist every attempt to sabotage the chances of any party all options available to them in seeking justice.
"While it is not our intention to impugn the integrity of our judiciary, we will not fold our arms and watch anybody connive with some enemies of democracy to help impunity thrive.
"We therefore condemn in very strong terms, the delay tactics currently employed by the Federal High Court as it is capable of obstructing a timely conclusion of the case.
"We are calling on Justice Agatha Okeke to make available the certified true copy of the full judgement on the case to the plantiff's legal team."
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