The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to immediately issue the certificate of return to the immediate-past Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, as the senator-elect for the Imo West Senatorial District.
Justice Okon Abang made this order in his judgment on the suit filed by Okorocha to challenge INEC’s decision to withhold his certificate of return after he was declared winner of the February 23, 2019, National Assembly election in the Imo West Senatorial District.
INEC had based its decision to withhold the certificate of return on the grounds that its Returning Officer who presided over the election complained to it that he declared the results under duress.
But the judge, who described INEC’s action as lawless and arbitrary, held in that Okorocha, having been declared winner of the election, INEC no longer had any legal authority to withhold the certificate of return due to him.
The judge held, “Once the declaration is made under section 68(c) of the Electoral Act, INEC has become functus officio and INEC has no lawful authority to withhold the certificate of return for any reason whatsoever.
“Therefore the issue of duress is unknown to both the Electoral Act and the Constitution.”
The court ruled that Okorocha remains elected subject to the outcome of the ongoing proceedings of the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal.
It therefore, ordered, “INEC shall forthwith publish and circulate the name of the plaintiff as the senator-elect representing Orlu Imo West Senatorial District.
“It is hereby ordered that INEC shall forthwith issue a certificate of return as the senator-elect representing Orlu Imo West Senatorial District.”
The judge awarded the cost of N200,000 payable by INEC to the plaintiff, and awarded N100,000 payable to the plaintiff by each of the other seven defendants to the plaintiff.
A total of N900,000 cost is to be paid by the defendants to Okorocha.
The judge ordered the defendants to pay the costs personally to Okorocha before taking any further steps in the case.
He held that the plaintiff ought not to have applied to be joined in the case, adding that the cost awarded against INEC would serve as a deterrence from taking any future unlawful action.
Okorocha had asked the Federal High Court Abuja to compel INEC to issue him with a Certificate of Return as the senator-elect for Imo West Senatorial District.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/296/2019, he had argued that INEC lacked the statutory powers to withhold his Certificate of Return.
He insisted that he was validly elected to occupy the senatorial seat.
He, therefore, urged the court to declare that the electoral body acted in error when it refused to recognise him, even after the returning officer had declared him the winner.
In the suit filed through his team of lawyers led by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Kehinde Ogunwumiju, INEC was cited as the sole defendant.
The judge, Taiwo Taiwo, has fixed April 5 to commence hearing on the matter, according to a report by Vanguard Newspaper.
Mr Taiwo granted the prayers of an application that was filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senatorial candidate, Jones Onyeriri and that of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, Osita Izunaso.
Messrs Onyeriri and Izunaso who were joined as interested parties in the matter and were subsequently listed as 2nd and 3rd defendants, respectively.
UOkorocha had been declared the winner of the Imo West senatorial election. But the presiding officer, Francis Ibeawuchi, said he was forced to make the declaration under duress.
It is based on that that the electoral commission removed Okorocha’s name from the elected senators’ list and said it was reviewing the situation in the district.
Okorocha, who was conspicuously absent at the INEC presentation of certificates of return to senators-elect on March 14, questioned INEC’s decision to remove his name from the list of elected senators.
He suggested that the commission might have been preparing a special event to issue him his certificate of return.
But INEC responded by saying there was no special ceremony prepared for anybody whose name did not appear on its list of successful candidates in the 2019 general elections.
Apart from not being recognised as a senator-elect, Okorocha’s party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, has also suspended him from the party.
Punch/Premiumtimes
The governor was suspended for anti-party activities after he supported the governorship candidate of another party, Uche Nwosu of Action Alliance.
Mr Nwosu, however, came second in the Imo governorship election behind Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party.
