ENUGU—THE Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu yesterday struck out the Appeal filed by the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate in the 2003 election, Chief Ugochukwu Agballah against the declaration of Governor Chimaroke Nnamani as winner. In a unanimous verdict, the five-man panel of the court upheld the decision of the State Election Petition Tribunal, which on March 30, this year, affirmed the election of Nnamani on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and dismissed Agballah’s appeal for lack of merit.
Justice Walter Onoghen, who read the lead judgment, stated that Agballah was unable to prove any of the claims he made in his appeal against the verdict of the lower tribunal, adding that the evidence he presented before the court could not sustain the appeal.
Agballah had claimed that he got majority votes in the election and ought to have been declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), adding that there were irregularities in the conduct of the election by the commission.
He also claimed that the lower tribunal rejected vital documents relating to the election, which he sought to tender to prove his case, adding that the tribunal erred by going ahead to give judgment against him without admitting the documents.
The appellate court, however, held that Agballah failed to provide enough evidence to sustain his claim, stressing that the lower tribunal was right in the conclusion it reached and had properly evaluated the evidence before arriving at the conclusion. The court said it could not interfere with the findings of the lower tribunal. “I am of the firm view that the lower tribunal is perfectly right in the conclusion it reached based on the evidence and that it properly evaluated the evidence before arriving at that conclusion. That being the case, I am of the view that the Court of Appeal cannot under the circumstances interfere with the findings made by the tribunal,” Onoghen said.
He further said, “The appellant also failed to prove that he won the election on majority of votes cast in the election. It is trite law that the submission of learned counsel however brilliant or well thought-out cannot take the place of evidence. Neither the voters’ register nor the result form was tendered by the appellant in evidence. In fact, the appellant’s case cries to high heaven for evidence, which never came as revealed by the records. The evidence in proof of the appellant’s case is therefore very conspicuous in its absence.”
In conclusion, Justice Onoghen said: “I find no merit in the appeal which is accordingly dismissed with N5, 000 cost awarded against the appellant.” Reacting to the court’s verdict, Agballah’s lead counsel, Mr. Mike Okoye said he would abide by the judgment, which he said “is the highest decision of the court in this land in election matters”, adding that “their judgment is supreme”. “I anticipated that we ought to win but we have to abide by the superior judgment/verdict of the court,” he added.
Also speaking on the court’s verdict, Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr Dan Shere who led other top functionaries of the government to the court, said it was not just a victory for Nnamani and his government, but also “ a victory for democracy and the rule of law in Nigeria.
“It is a vote of confidence on democracy and the rule of law in Nigeria; it is a victory for Enugu people especially the ordinary and voiceless Enugu people whose mandate is being challenged by the minority view... As usual, we thank God that democracy is alive and well in Nigeria. We thank Enugu people for their continued support, a support that Nnamani has never taken for granted; a support that has fetched them numerous democracy dividends,” he said.
Shortly after the judgment was delivered, thousands of PDP supporters drawn from various local government areas in the state stormed the nearby Okpara Square singing and dancing in celebration of the governor’s victory. There was a very tight security around the court premises, which was cordoned off by both regular and mobile policemen while operatives of the State Security Service (SSS) thoroughly screened people before allowing them into the court premises.
