Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha & Anor V. Owelle Rochas Anayo Okorocha & Ors (2015)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

EJEMBI EKO, J.C.A.?(Delivering the Leading Judgment)

On 16th May, 2015 the appellants, as petitioners, filed their petition No. EPT/IM/GOV/03/2015 challenging the return of the 1st respondent herein by the 2nd respondent as the person duly elected as Governor of Imo State.

The 37th respondent, All Progressive Congress (APC) sponsored the candidature of the 1st respondent at the said election contested inter alia by the 1st appellant on the platform of the 2nd appellant, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

At the close of the pleadings, said to be on 20th June, 2015, the Petitioners through their counsel, submitted on 23rd June, 2015, a letter dated 22nd June, 2015 to the secretary of the Tribunal hearing their petition requesting the issuance of pre-hearing notice on all the parties in this petition: No. EPT/IM/GOV/3/2015.

The letter is at page 257 of the record. At pages 258-259 of the Record there is a Hearing Notice for pre-hearing session, Form TF007, signed by the Tribunal Secretary that is not addressed to anybody in particular. The sum of N300.00 is endorsed on the said form TF007 as the fee paid on the said process issued on 23rd June, 2015.

?At pages 260-265

of the Record of Appeal there is Form TF008, pre-hearing Information sheet, duly signed by the counsel to the Petitioners, K.O. Ahamba, Esq. That process is dated on 23rd June, 2015. The 1st and 37th respondents in the petition and this appeal filed their Answers to the Questions contained in the pre-hearing Information, Form TF008, on 26th June, 2015. The process is at pages 266-268 of the Record. On the 4th July, 2015 the 5th, 13th, 14th, 25th, 30th, and 31st respondents similarly filed their “answers to the questions contained in the pre-hearing Information.” These could be found, respectively, at pages 373-375, 376-378, 379-381, 382-384 and 385-387 of the Record.

The Petitioners had on 3rd July, 2015 paid N300.00 as filing fee for their letter dated 22nd June, 2015 but received by the Tribunal Secretary on 23rd June, 2015. The fact of this payment is endorsed on the letter at page 257 of the record. It is this payment that prompted the 1st and 37th respondents to bring their motion filed on 6th July, 2015 praying the Tribunal below for:

?1. An order granting leave to the 1st and 37th Respondent/Applicants to file and argue the instant application outside of

the pre-hearing session.

2. An Order dismissing this petition as having been abandoned; and or constituting a gross abuse of court process.

The grounds for these reliefs sought by the 1st and 37th respondents, as the applicants, are:

a. The Petitioners/Respondents failed file application for pre-hearing session within 7 days window mandatorily prescribed by paragraph 18(1) of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act, as amended, after close of pleadings.

b. Default in filing application for pre-hearing session within the time prescribed or outside of the time attracts automatic dismissal of the petition as an abandoned petition.

c. The 3rd-36th Respondents were misrepresented as agents of the 37th Respondent/Applicants and/or political parties other than of the 2nd Respondent in the Petition.