Headline
Tribunal upholds Benue Rep., Achado’s victory
The National/State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in Makurdi, has upheld the victory of Rep. Asema Achado, of All Progressives Congress (APC), in the Feb. 25, Gwer East/Gwer West Federal Constituency election.
Delivering the judgment on Saturday, Chairman of the panel, Justice Amina Adamu, said the petitioners, Emmanuel Ukaa and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), failed to prove their case.
Adamu said the petitioners also failed to provide any shred of cogent and compelling evidence to support the alleged offences against the second respondent, Achado.
According to the judge, Section 65 of the Nigerian Constitution provides for the nature of the certificate required for contesting election into the National Assembly election, and Form EC9 relied upon by the petitioner in evidence, is not a certificate.
Amina further held that Achado’s evidence and the academic certificates he tendered were not challenged by the petitioners, whose evidence was porous and contradictory.
She said the petitioners failed to provide any single element required by law to prove allegations of forgery in an election petition.
“The documents tendered by the respondent showed that though his names were arranged differently, the credentials belong to him.
The petitioners have also failed to list the names of schools the respondent attended, and the certificates he allegedly forged. How did the petitioners know that Achado’s certificate is forged, when they did not present any certificates?”
The tribunal held that the petitioners ought to have proven their case by submitting relevant documents to support that, not based on the information contained on form EC9.
The tribunal, consequently struck out the petition for lacking in merit, unsubstantiated in law, vague and baseless, and therefore, affirmed the victory of Achado.
The court accordingly awarded the cost of N25,000 against the petitioners in favour of each of the three respondents, INEC, Achado, and the APC.
Ukaa had dragged Achado to the tribunal challenging his credentials.
The PDP candidate had accused the respondent of forging his certificates and Form EC9, and urged the tribunal to nullify the APC candidate’s election and declare him winner.
The Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN has warned against obstructing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from carrying out its lawful duty .
Fagbemi’s warning is contained in a statement in Abuja.
“This is a matter of very grave concern, it is now beyond doubt that the EFCC is given power by the law to invite any person of interest to interact with them in the course of their investigations into any matter, regardless of status.
“Therefore, the least that we can all do when invited, is not to put any obstruction in the way of EFCC, but to honourably answer their invitation.
“A situation where public officials who are themselves subject of protection by law enforcement agents will set up a stratagem of obstruction to the civil and commendable efforts of the EFCC to perform its duty is to say the least, insufferably disquieting’’.
He added that running away from the law will not resolve issues at stake but only exacerbate them.
“Nigeria has a vibrant judicial system that is capable of protecting everyone who follows the rule of law in seeking protection.
“I therefore encourage anyone who has been invited by the EFCC or any other agency to immediately toe the path of decency and civility by honouring such invitation instead of embarking on a temporising self-help and escapism.
“This can only put our country in bad light before the rest of the world’’.
He said institutions of state should be allowed to function effectively and efficiently.
“I stand for the rule of law and will promptly call EFCC, and indeed any other agency to order when there is an indication of any transgressions of the fundamental rights of any Nigerian by any of the agencies’’.
NAN reports that the EFCC had on Wednesday warned members of the public that it was a criminal offence to obstruct officers of the Commission from carrying out their lawful duties.
Section 38(2)(a(b) of the EFCC Establishment Act makes it an offence to prevent officers of the Commission from carrying out their lawful duties. Culprits risk a jail term of not less than five years.
The warning , the EFCC said, became necessary against the background of the increasing tendency by persons and groups under investigation by the Commission to take the laws into their hands by recruiting thugs to obstruct lawful operations of the EFCC.
On several occasions, the anti graft agency said, operatives of the Commission have had to exercise utmost restraint in the face of such provocation to avoid a breakdown of law and order.
Some unknown gunmen have kidnapped Joshua Rogers, the ChannelsTV reporter in Port-Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
Politics Nigeria learnt that Rogers was picked up close to his residence at Rumuosi in Port Harcourt and to an unknown destination by the gunmen around 9pm on Thursday, April 11.
The reporter was driving his official ChannelsTV branded car when the hoodlums accosted, pointed a gun at him and took him away in the same vehicle.
Rogers was said to be returning from his official assignment in Government House after a trip to Andoni for a government event when the incident happened.
Already, the gunmen were said to have contacted his wife and demanded a N30million ransom for bis release.
His cameraman confirmed the incident and appealed to his abductors to set him free unconditionally.
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