BREAKING: Federal High Court declares Sen. Otu authentic APC governroship candidate in C’River

 

From Judex Okoro, Calabar

Federal High Court in Calabar has declared Sen. Bassey Otu as the authentic APC governorship candidate in Cross River State.

This somewhat brings to an end the legal tussle between Sen. John Owan Eno and Sen. Bassey Otu over who is the candidate of APC. Otu polled 887 votes to defeat Sen Owan Enoh who scored 84 votes.

Sen. Owan Enoh had, after the May 26, 2022 Cross River State governorship primaries,
approached the Court in Suit No.FHC/CA/061/2022 between him and APC, INEC and Sen Bassey Edet Otu, seeking for the disqualification of Otu.
Owan, theough his counsel, Awa Kalu (SAN), had argued that Sen. Otu did not show that he was fully cleared after screening.

Delivering judgment on the matter on Monday in Calabar, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu declared that Sen. Otu was validly elected as APC candidate.

Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu held that the plaintiffs Senator John Owan Enoh failed to prove his case, adding that in the seven paragraph affidavit summitted by the plaintiffs, the allegation of forgery could not be established.

In her words: “The plaintiff failed to provide what constituted or constitutes the false information provided by the third defendant who is the candidate of his party in his affidavit or any document submitted as contained in the constitutional requirement.

“There is no where in the seven paragraph affidavit submitted by the plaintiff that the third defendant submitted any false information. The allegation of forgery was not established in any manner.

“None of the documents or certificates submitted by the third defendant gave evidence of forgery. I have carefully perused the averments and find no evidence of false information.

“The party that alleges false information according to section 29 (5) of the electoral act has the onus to prove but this was not discharged.

“For the court to rule otherwise, there must be cogent and palpable evidence to the contrary, but in this case there is none that is presented before this court”, she said.

She added that though the third defendant (Sen. Otu) was not cleared by the screening panel and the appeal panel, he was however, “cleared by the National Working Committee (NWC) and it will be a journey into the oblivion to question why he was cleared.

“The real issues involved in this case has been settled in favour of the third defendant. In the final analysis, I find that the plaintiff has failed to substantiate his claims to be deserving of a favourable judgment of this court in terms of reliefs sought.

“This honourable court is of the humble but firm opinion that the plaintiffs case lacks merit, so this case fails and is accordingly dismissed”, she stated.

In his reaction, Benson Igbanoi, who held brief of Chief Mike Ozekome, SAN, the lead counsel, for the third defendant, Prince Otu, said: :The pronouncement of the honourable court is a victory indeed.”

However in his reaction, counsel to Senator Owam Enoh, Jacob Abang Dakim, who held brief to Awah Kalu SAN, said: “The entire jugment will be appealed immediately and we have the mandate of Sen. Owan to appeal the matter.

“If the preliminary objections succeeds, I see no reason why the main case should not succeed”, he said.

Hailing the judgmenet, the APC State Chairman, Alphonsus Eba, Esq, said the Court has corroborated legally what they did demcratically, but quickly added that “there is no victor no vanquished.”

Eba said: “The Court has put a seal to back-to-south which seeks equity, justice and fairness.

According to him, Owan is the biblical lost sheep out of 100, one got lost and so I will do everything to get him back into the fold because it is a victory to all of us. He advised all stakeholders to close ranks.

One of Sen Otu’s die-hard suporters and a member of Tinubu Presidential Campaign Council, Prince Ekanem Ekpo, said:”We were not worried about the Federal High Court judgment today, Monday, October 24 because Otu has no case to answer.

“It is just a distraction. Sò we are sure of victory and have been going about our campaigns. With an APC governor in the state Otu’s victory is assured.”