Appeal Court dismisses appeal by Imo Govt On Seizure Of Okorocha’s Properties

From Godwin Tsa Abuja

Specifically, the dismissed appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/942/2020, was against the ruling of an Owerri Federal High Court, which granted

Senator Rochas Okorocha the leave to amend processes filed before the court.

Justice Dattijo Yahaya, who lead a three-member panel of Justices,  dismissed the appeal, following a notice of discontinuance dated and filed on March 16 by the Attorney General of Imo State, Cyprain Akaolisa, on behalf of the appellants.

Counsel to Senator Rochas Okorocha, Oba Maduabuchi (SAN) had  opposed the withdrawal of the appeal on the ground that the action was meant to deceive the Court by pretending to discontinue the appeal and go back

to Imo State and complete what they intend to do before returning to the Court.

He said the appellants were only interested in humiliating the Senator by marking his properties and those of his associates for demolition during the pendency of the suit before a Federal High Court in Owerri and the appeal before the Court of Appeal.

But Justice Yahaya however struck out the appeal on the ground that

an appellant has the  legal right to withdraw an appeal following a notice of discontinuance properly filed before the Court.

Speaking to journalists shortly after the ruling, Okorocha’s Counsel,

stated that, “the appeal was against the ruling of a lower Court

allowing us to amend our processes. Imo State government jumped to the court of Appeal, saying that it was wrong to allow us to amend our

processes.

“They filed their brief, I filed my brief and filed an objection that

the appeal is incompetent. Then we filed a motion that every step they

have taken, including the arrest and humiliation of Rochas Okorocha

during the pendency of this matter must be set aside by the Court of

Appeal. We served them with that Motion, they have not filed a counter to it, they went ahead to mark properties belonging to To has and his associates for demolition based upon the proceedings of the panels of inquiry that took place during the pendency of both this Appeal and

the matter in the  lower Court, which is abuse of process of Court”.

 “Now they have achieved their objective which is to humiliate Rochas, to take over his properties, they have withdrawn the appeal, so what

can be more abusive of the process of Court than that.

“When the matter is pending in the Court of Appeal you go and round up proceeding in your panel on enquiry, while the matter is pending in the Court of Appeal you go and forfeit the properties of Rochas

Okorocha, you went and Mark his properties for demolition. This is the impunity we have been shouting about, people do things the way they want to do it and not the way the law the law asked them to do it.

“How can you file an appeal you know is incompetent, then while the appeal is pending in the Court of Appeal, you know ask your panels of inquiry to conclude and submit their reports and you issues white

paper, seal people’s houses, mark them for demolition while the appeal is pending in the Court of Appeal, that is obviously an abuse of Court

process”.