Tony Nwoye V. Mr. Ameke Chriscato Ikechukwu & Ors (2011)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

ADAMU JAURO, J.C.A (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This appeal is against the ruling of the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal Anambra State, sitting in Awka delivered on 19th September 2011 in petition number EPT/AN/HR/17/2011. The ruling was in respect of three applications, namely:

(i) Petitioner’s motion for the issuance of pre hearing notice,

(ii) Petitioners application for extension of time to file petitioner’s reply to 3rd to 7th Respondents and

(iii) The 1st Respondent’s application to dismiss the petition as an abandoned petition.

The three applications were consolidated and argued together and in the said ruling, the petitioner’s two applications were dismissed and the 1st Respondent’s application granted and the petition dismissed as an abandoned petition.

A brief summary of the facts giving rise to this appeal is hereby made thus: The Appellant and the 1st Respondent are members of the same political party, the Peoples Democratic Party, hereinafter referred to as P. D. P. The elections of the House of Representatives for Anambra East/West Federal Constituency Anambra State were held on the 26th April, 2011. Upon the conclusion of the election, the 3rd to 7th Respondents declared and returned the 1st Respondent as the winner of the election. Distressed by the declaration and return of the 1st Respondent as the winner of the election, the Appellant as Petitioner challenged same by a petition filed in the tribunal.

The petition of the Appellant is dated 10th May, 2011 and filed in the registry of the Tribunal on 11th May, 2011 The Appellant in the said petition contended that he was the one that contested and won the election for the Anambra East/West Federal Constituency held on 26th April, 2011 under the platform of the P. D. P. The Appellant further contended that the 7th Respondent instead of declaring him the winner of the election, wrongfully, amazingly and inexplicably declared the 1st Respondent.

The facts given in support of the petition inter alia included the allegation that the 1st Respondent was not qualified to contest the election in the sense that he was not sponsored in the election by any registered political party in the land. The Appellant’s main ground therefore was that it was him, not the 1st Respondent that was the candidate of the 2nd Respondent, the P. D. P. The Appellant as Petitioner sought for the following reliefs in paragraph 9 of the petition, viz:

“(1) A declaration of court that the 1st Respondent was not validly or duly returned as a member of the House of Representatives for the Anambra East/West Federal Constituency having not been sponsored by the Peoples Democratic Party in the election nor gone through or participated in all the stages of the said election held on 26/4/2011.

(2) A further declaration of court that the votes attributed to the 1st Respondent in the said election i.e. 16,020 votes were improperly or invalidly attributed to him and ought to have been attributed to the petitioner who had been sponsored by the PDP in the election, had contested in the same and actually won the election with the aforesaid 16,020 votes.

(3) A declaration of court that the return made in favour of the 1st Respondent by the constituency returning officer on 27/4/2011 was undue and invalid in that the petitioner and not the said 1st Respondent was the candidate of the PDP who actually contested the election and earned the majority votes of 16,020 votes in the election.

(4) A declaration of court that the petitioner was validly elected as the member of the Federal House of Representatives to represent Anambra East/West Federal Constituency in the election to the National Assembly held on 26/4/2011 since the majority of the votes had been cast for him in the said election.

(5) An order of injunction that the INEC issues a certificate of return in favour of the petitioner to enable him take his rightful place at the National Assembly to represent the Anambra East/West Federal Constituency, Anambra State, and a further order of injunction restraining the 1st Respondent from parading or putting himself forward as the person returned or elected as the member of the aforesaid Anambra East/West Federal Constituency or from enjoying any rights/perquisites of that office.