Rivers gov poll: Appeal Court expunges part of
APC’s petition against Wike
—The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja,
yesterday, expunged some paragraphs of the
petition that led to the annulment of the April 11
governorship election that brought Governor
Nyesom Wike of Rivers State to power.
Nyesom Wike
In a judgment it delivered, a three-man panel of
Justices of the Appeal Court headed by Justice
Datti Yahaya, struck out portions of the petition
alleging that security agents were used to rig the
election in favour of Wike and the Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP.
The decision of the appellate court followed an
interlocutory appeal that was lodged before it by
the APC and its governorship candidate in Rivers
State, Dr. Dakuku Peterside.
Both APC and Peterside had gone before the
court to challenge the ruling of the previous
chairman of the Rivers State Governorship
Election Petition Tribunal panel, Justice Muazu
Pindiga, which deleted paragraphs of the petition
containing criminal allegations against unnamed
security operatives.
Justice Pindiga, who was subsequently removed
from presiding over the petition by the President
of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab
Bulkachuwa, based his decision on the fact that
the petitioners failed to join the said security
agents and other persons it said participated in
the alleged electoral fraud as parties to the suit.
Among those that the APC alleged masterminded
the rigging of election in Rivers State included
wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan,
Dame Patience.
But, dissatisfied with the ruling of the lower
tribunal, the petitioners took the matter before
the appellate court.
While upholding the decision of the tribunal
yesterday, the appeal court held that paragraphs
of the petition containing allegations of electoral
crime against named and unnamed security
agents and alleged political thugs should be
expunged from the record of the tribunal.
The court stressed that the petitioners ought to
have joined the accused security agents and
political thugs as parties to the petition.
Specifically, the court directed that evidences
that were led against security agents and
political thugs, whether named or unnamed, in
the course of hearing of the petition against
Wike, where the said security agents and alleged
political thugs were not joined as parties, should
be struck out.
The Court of Appeal further directed that all the
criminal allegations contained in the petition
against the said security agents and alleged
political thugs be expunged as they had no
opportunity to defend themselves at the tribunal.
The court held that in cases where criminal
allegations were made against institutions,
agents and individuals, the law required that in
the interest of justice, they should be joined as
parties to the matter.
Other members of the appeal court panel that
delivered the judgment were Justices Tanim
Yusuf and Mustapha Mohammed
Caleb Ibe reports