Posted by By GODWIN TSA Abuja on
Attempts by the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Anambra State, Dr. Andy Uba to stop his trial over alleged certificate forgery before a Federal High Court hit the rocks on Thursday in Abuja .
Attempts by the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Anambra State, Dr. Andy Uba to stop his trial over alleged certificate forgery before a Federal High Court hit the rocks on Thursday in Abuja .
An indigene of the state, Mr. Greg Ikemefuna, has dragged Dr. Uba before the court seeking to stop him from contesting the governorship election in Anambra State on the account that he was not only an ex-convict but also a liar, having sworn to an affidavit that he had a chain of university degrees, including Doctor of Science when, indeed, he did not have any.
In the accompanying 25-paragraph statement of claim, Ikemefuna alleged that Dr. Uba was convicted in the United States of America by courts of competent jurisdiction but he did not specify when the conviction and sentence were slammed on him.
He also alleged that Uba perjured when he said that he attended Concordia Universities, Montreal Canada, California State University, Los Angeles and Buxton University, London .
The plaintiff also alleged that the PDP which nominated him for election was aware of all these perjury and still went ahead to forward his name to INEC for the election.
But when the matter came up for hearing on Thursday, Counsel to Andy, Mr. Wale Akoni (SAN) prayed the court to stay proceedings on the case and awaits the outcome of a petition lodged before the National Judicial Council (NJC) by the plaintiff against the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Roseline Ukeje, over alleged plan by the Chief Judge to frustrate the hearing of the matter.
His request was, however, turned down by the trial judge, Justice Babs Kuewumi, who held that the matter before the NJC can not operate as a stay of proceedings on the case.
Dr. Uba also lost in his bid to quash an order of substituted service as was ordered by Justice Binta Nyako, who sat over the matter before it was transferred to Justice Kuewumi.
Earlier, Counsel to Uba had argued that the outcome of the petition might affect substantially the prosecution of the case, with the counsel to the electoral commission, supporting him.
But in his ruling, Justice Kuewumi agreed with the argument canvassed by Dr. Alex Izinyon {SAN}, counsel to the plaintiff, that the petition before the NJC had nothing to do with the conduct of the case.
The trial has witnessed some dramatic twist within the shortest period it was filed before the court.
The case was first assigned to Justice Anwuri Chikere of the Federal high court, Abuja when it was filed.
But just as parties were set to go into hearing of the case the trial judge, Justice Anwuri Chikere announced to them in the open court that the case-file had been withdrawn from her for re-assignment.
Expressing shock over the incident, counsel to the plaintiff, Dr Alex Izinyon (SAN) explained that a case-file could only be withdrawn only if there was a request, from either party in the suit, for the transfer of the case from the trial judge to another on account of likelihood of bias or when a judge, suo motu, hands off, over similar reason.
He therefore vowed to get to the root of the matter and accordingly filed a petition on behalf of his client to the Chairman of the National Judicial Council, Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi over the matter, urging that the matter should be re-assigned immediately with the circumstances leading to the withdrawal of the case file investigated.
But as soon as the matter was re-assigned, Ikemefuna, this time around, sent a petition to the trial judge, Justice Binta Nyako, asking her to disqualify herself from hearing the case on the grounds that her husband is also a gubernatorial candidate of the ruling PDP sued in the instant case.
Accordinly, Justice Nyako who is the Administrative Judge of the Abuja division of the Federal high court, washed her hands off the suit following allegations of bias by the plaintiff.
Specifically, the plaintiff had alleged that Justice Nyako's husband, is a gubernatorial candidate of the ruling PDP in Adamawa state and that there was the possibility that she could be biased in the handling of the case since her husband belonged to the PDP fold.
Based on this Justice Nyako who was visibly angry with the turn of events did not waste time to hands off the suit and transferred the case-file to the Chief Judge of the Federal high court, Justice Roseline Ukeje for re-assignment.
In the suit, the plaintiff is asking the court to issue the following reliefs in his favour including:
· A declaration that the information presented by Dr Andy Uba relating to the tertiary institutions he attended contained in the INEC's Form CF 001\Affidavit in support of personal particulars of person seeking election to the office of the Governor of Anambra state is false;
· A declaration that the information presented by Dr Andy Uba in the INEC's Form CF 001|Affidavit in support of personal particulars of persons seeking election to the office of the Governor of Anambra state that he has never been convicted and or sentenced for an offence is false;
· A declaration that the information presented by Dr Andy Uba in the INEC's Form CF 001\Affidavit in support of personal particulars of persons seeking election to the Office of the Governor of Anambra State to the effect that he acquired Doctor of Science from the tertiary institutions contained in the INEC's Form 001|Affidavit in support of personal particulars of persons seeking election to the office of the Governor of Anambra state is false;
·An order disqualifying Dr Andy Uba from contesting as a gubernatorial candidate in Anambra state in the 2007 general election;
·An order pronouncing PDP the party that sponsored Dr Andy Uba guilty of an offence and imposing a fine of N500,000 for fielding a disqualified candidate in accordance with the Electoral Act;
·An order restraining Dr Andy Uba from parading himself as a gubernatorial candidate in Anambra state and
*An order of perpertual injunction restraining INECfrom recognizing Dr. Andy Uba participates in the 2007 general elections.
Further hearing in the matter has been adjourned to March 26, 2007.