The senator representing Delta South senatorial district in Delta State, Joel-Onowakpo Thomas, popularly known as (JOT), has petitioned the President of the Court of Appeal of Nigeria, asking him to prevail on the Chairman of the National and State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Asaba, to release the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgement on a petition marked EPT/DL/SEN/01/2023- Diden Michael & ANOR v INEC & ORS.
The senatorial candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Michael Diden, aka Ejele and his party, in their petition marked EPT/DT/SEN/ 01/2023, had challenged the victory of the Joel-Onowakpo in the 2023 National Assembly election, asking the tribunal to void the Independent National Electoral Commission’s declaration of Joel-Onowakpo as the winner of the 2023 senatorial election.
Diden said Joel-Onowakpo was not duly elected by the majority of lawful votes cast at the poll.
A three-man panel headed by Justice Cathrine Ogunsola in her ruling last Wednesday declared that the election that brought in Joel-Onowakpo was inconclusive and therefore ordered the electoral body to conduct a supplementary election in the Warri South council area of Delta South senatorial district within 90 days.
But, Joel-Onowakpo who had vowed to appeal against the judgement, has called on the President of the Court of Appeal to as a matter of urgency and importance prevail on the Chairman of the Delta State National and State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal Panel, Justice Cathrine Ogunsola to release the CTC of the judgement.
The petition signed on behalf of Joel-Onowakpo by his counsel, Robert Emukpoeruo (SAN) of Summit Law Chambers (Solicitors & Advocates), titled, "Non-release of Judgement Delivered on 6th September 2023 is in Petition No: EPT/DL/SEN/01/2023, Diden Michael & ANOR v INEC & ORS", was addressed to the President of the Court of Appeal.
It said the non-release of the CTC of the judgement had continued to impede on his determination to challenge the ruling in an appeal, as he was not satisfied with the outcome of the tribunal.
According to him, he has not come to terms with why the Chairman of the tribunal has not released the CTC.
The petition reads, "We act as Counsel to Senator Joel-Onowakpo Thomas Ewomazino, the 2nd Respondent in the above petition and we have his instructions to bring to your Lordship's attention the failure to release upon application the judgement of the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Tribunal Panel 3 sitting in Asaba in the aforesaid matter.
“On the 6th of September 2023, the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly Election Tribunal, Holden in Asaba (Panel 3) delivered judgement in the above petition in which it ordered a rerun of the Delta South Senatorial District Election.
"We immediately applied for the Certified True Copy of the said judgement with a view to our client preparing and filing his notice and grounds appeal against the judgement.
“A copy of the duly acknowledged letter is herewith attached showing that our application was received on the 7th of September 2023. Since the day of delivery of the judgement, we have embarked on a daily pilgrimage to the Registrar of the Tribunal for the Certified True Copy of the judgement only to be met by the blunt statement of the Tribunal's Secretary that the Chairman of the Tribunal has not yet released the judgement!
"Today the 11th day of September 2023 makes it the sixth day out of the constitutionally limited period of the sixty days from the delivery of the judgement for the Court of Appeal to hear and determine our client's appeal pursuant to the provisions of Section 285(7) of the 1999 Constitution and our client still does not have the judgement.
“In order that our client's constitutionally guaranteed right of appeal is not truncated entirely and the Court of Appeal itself is not placed under an intolerable time constrain to hear and determine our proposed appeal, we most humbly appeal to your noble Lord to prevail on or and direct the chairman of the tribunal aforesaid to immediately release the judgement delivered in the aforesaid matter.