Ebonyi: ‘Ignore judgement sacking you from office,’ Abakaliki court tells Umahi, deputy
[From CHINEDU NWAFOR, Abakaliki]
High Court sitting in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, has asked David Umahi and Dr Kelechi Igwe, to ignore the Federal High Court in Abuja judgement that ordered them to vacate their offices as state governor and deputy, respectively.
The Court presided over by Justice Henry Njoku made the order on Thursday following an Ex Parte motion filed by Mr Umahi and his deputy, over the March 8,2022, Federal High Court ruling, which ordered them to vacates their offices for defecting from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Recall that Justice Njoku had on February, 28,2022, dismissed a suit seeking to sack Umahi and his Deputy from offices for defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.
Senator Sunny Ogbuorji who contested governorship on the platform of the APC in 2019, and his running mate, Justin Ogodo Mbam,had approached the court, requesting that Umahi and his deputy should be ordered to vacate their offices, having defected from the PDP on which platform they were elected as Governor and deputy.
They argued that having came second in the governorship election, the court should empower them to replace Umahi and his deputy.
But barely seven days Justice Njoku ruled on the matter, a federal high court presided by Justice Inyang Ekwo, in another suit, on March 8,2022, sacked Umahi and his deputy for defecting to the APC.
But delivering ruling on a motion ex-parte motion brought before the honourable Court by Barrister Roy Umahi, Counsel to the defendants (Umahi and his deputy), on Thursday, Justice Njoku maintained that his earlier judgement which came before the judgement of the Abuja Federal High Court remained valid and subsisting, and urged the plaintiffs to ignore any other judgement by Court of equal jurisdiction on same subject matter.
He said: “an interim order of this Honourable Court for seven days (7) subject to renewal is hereby granted, in view of its judgement in Suit NO HAB/13/2022 delivered on 28th Day of February, 2022 being a judgement in rem, and having precedence over any subsequent contrary judgement. The applicants hereto, Engr David Umahi and Dr Kelechi Igwe shall accordingly remain and not removed from office As Governor and Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State respectively”.
Justice Njoku also called on all parties to obey the Court orders and refrain from abusing judicial process.
