DR ALEX OTTI WINS GOV OKEZIE IKPEAZU AT THE COURT OF APPEAL SITTING TODAY 3/9/2015 AT OWERRI

The Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri, the Imo State capital today struck out an appeal brought by Wole Olanipeku SAN on behalf of Dr. Victor Okezie Ikpeazu against Dr. Alex Otti. The appeal arose from the ruling of the Abia State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Umuahia; Hon. Justice U. B. Bwala (Chairman) Hon. Justice E. A. Ebienyie and Hon. Justice O. I. Ogunyemi, delivered on 24th July, 2015 in which the tribunal held thus;

Okezie Ikpeazu, and PDP had gone on Appeal against the decision of the Tribunal that all preliminary objections shall be taken along with the substantive petition.

There were a total of 3 motions that PDP and Ikpeazu approached the court of appeal sitting in Owerri with. All three appeals bother on the same subject of the order of the Tribunal to hear all preliminary objections along with the petition.

In its ruling today, the appeal court, while upholding the argument of Nwala Oracle Esq for the 1st and 2nd Respondents agreed on the sanctity of Paragraph 12 (5) of the 1st Schedule to the Electoral Act and consequently dismissed the Appeal. It further affirmed that the lower Tribunal is to give ruling on all the motions filed before it including those of the petitioner. Meanwhile, the other two Appeals filed by PDP against the petitioner which were also taken today by Paul Ananaba SAN for the Appellant and Rickey Tarfa SAN for the 1st and 2nd Respondent. The Court of Appeal has reserved the Judgments on the two appeals

The ruling today which is in favour of Otti has rested their case. It’s now left for the lower Tribunal to conclude the hearing as it has just done and then deliver all the rulings together with those motions Ikpeazu and PDP are angling for.