Okocha Samuel Osi V. Accord Party & Ors (2016)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report

AMIRU SANUSI, J.S.C.

This appeal emanated from the Judgment of the Court of Appeal (now the lower Court), Benin Division Delivered on 17th December, 2015 which overturned the Judgment of the National Assembly and State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal (“the Tribunal” for short) and upheld the election of the appellant.

Being dissatisfied with the Judgment of the lower Court delivered on 17th December, 2015 the 1st respondent /Cross appellant filed notice of cross appeal on 7th January, 2016. Upon being served with the Notice of appeal, the Appellant/1st Respondent notice of Cross appeal.

Sequel to that the 2nd and 3rd Respondents/Respondents filed Notice of Preliminary Objection dated 16/9/2016, challenging the competence of the Cross appeal. Now since the preliminary Objection poses a challenge on the Jurisdiction of this Court to entertain this appeal in the first place, i think it is only fair to consider the Preliminary Objection first, before I later consider the main appeal if the need arises. The Notice of Preliminary Objection filed by the 2nd and 3rd respondents in this appeal is dated

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16/9/2015 and filed on 20/9/2016 The six grounds upon which the Objection was anchored are as follows;-

1.That the appellate Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court does not extend to the hearing and determination of appeals from the decision of the Court of Appeal in respect of election to membership of a State House of Assembly.

2. By virtue Section 246 (3) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the decision of the Court of Appeal in respect of appeals arising from the National and State House of Assembly Election petition Tribunal is final.
3. The subject matter of this appeal is the Judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered on 17th day of December 2015 in respect of the election to the membership of the Delta State House of Assembly for Anocha North Constituency which took place on 11th April 2015.
4. By virtue of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the aforesaid judgment of the Court of Appeal is final and the appellant and Cross appellant are not vested with any right of appeal against that Judgment to this Court.
5. By virtue of Section 285 (7) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the time prescribed for the hearing

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and determination of any appeal arising any (sic) decision of the Tribunal has since elapsed and the issues on the appellants’ appeal have become hypothetically academic and statute barred, and

6.That this present appeal constituted abuse of Court process as this Court in numerous decisions has declared and affirmed the sanctity and infallibility of the decisions of the Court of Appeal on appeals from the National and State House of Assembly Election Tribunal.

The learned counsel for the 2nd and 3rd Respondents objection annexed a Written Address dated 16th September, 2016 to his notice of Preliminary Objection which he also adopted at the hearing of the appeal on 29/9/2016.

The learned counsel for the 2nd and 3rd Respondents now Objectionors raised a lone issue for the determination of this Preliminary Objection which is simple whether the appellants appeal is not incompetent, an abuse of judicial process and vests no jurisdiction in the Supreme Court.

Advancing arguments on the said issue, the learned counsel submitted that this appeal stems from the Judgment of the Court below on election membership to the Delta State House of

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