Dr. Torti Ufere Torti V Chief Chris Ukpabi & Ors. (1984)

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ESO, J.S.C.

On 2nd November, 1983, I allowed the appeal of Dr. T.U. Torti, the appellant in this appeal against the judgment of the Federal Court of Appeal. In my judgment I described the system employed by the respondent as simplistic but crude. I will now give my reasons for the conclusion I reached in my judgment.

The background to this case is very simple. Both the appellant, Torti, and the 1st respondent, Ukpabi, were candidates for election to the Umuahia senatorial district. The Federal Electoral Commission (Fedeco), which body was constitutionally set up to conduct the election, declared the first respondent elected. The figures as announced by Fedeco were as follows:

NPN (Ukpabi) 172,071

NPP (Torti) 153,832

thus the NPN had a majority of 18, 239.

In this case the appellant disputed only three constituencies to wit –

(i) Olokoro/Ubakala – wherein Fedeco recorded the NPN as having scored 16535 and the NPP 6224. Whereas according to the contention of the appellant the NPN scored 6535 and not 16,535. In this, appellant complained of an inflation of 10,000 votes.

(ii) Ohuhu/Umuopara. Here, Fedeco recorded the NPN as having scored 20 21,561 as against the NPP 8,750. The complaint here is that Fedeco inflated the NPN figures by 10,000.

(iii) Isiazu. Fedeco recorded 22,337 for the NPN and 8,462 for the NPP. The appellant contended that Fedeco has inflated the figures by 20,000 votes.

The sum total of this is that the appellant contended that there has been an inflation of 40,000 in favour of the NPN. How was it done The appellant contended that the Fedeco employed a most simplistic figure “1” in front of the score of the NPN in the Olokoro/Ubakala constituency. The correct score according to appellant was 6,535 and when the figure “1” was placed before the correct figure of 30 6,535 it became 16,535.

In regard to Ohuhu/Umuopara Constituency the first figure “1” in the score 11,561 was changed to “2” and thus the score was turned to 21,561 thus wrongfully inflating the score by 10,000, whereas as regards Isiazu Constituency, the method was advanced, this time by placing the figure “2” before the correct score 2,337, thus we had there 22,337 a wrongful inflation of 20,000.

The trial court found that the figures were wrongfully inflated with the active assistance of the police. The judges Amadi-Obi, Ononuju and Alilionwu JJ., condemned in unmistakable terms the conduct of the police. The judqes said:

“The court condemns in very strong terms the interference of the police in the conduct of this election as shown in Ex. M which we consider as creating an opportunity for the 3rd respondent (sic the returning officer) to falsify the results in Ex. M.”