The Coalition for Social Justice and Good Governance (CSJGG) has submitted a formal request to the President of the Court of Appeal, urging the establishment of a panel to review the judgment concerning the Abia Central Senatorial seat dispute.
In a statement released on Monday in Abuja, Mr. Ciroma Ahmed, the co-Convener of the coalition, articulated the basis for their appeal. The contentious case revolved around the Abia Central Senatorial District seat, which was contested by Mr. Augustine Akobundu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Sen. Darlington Nwokocha of the Labour Party (LP), who also holds the position of Minority Whip in the Senate. Both candidates vied for the seat in the 2023 National Assembly elections.
Following the election, Sen. Nwokocha secured the seat and was declared the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after amassing a total of 92,116 votes. However, Mr. Akobundu, who garnered 41,447 votes, sought legal recourse, challenging the election results due to his dissatisfaction with the outcome.
The case subsequently made its way to the Appeal Court, where the judgment was delivered on a Saturday evening by Justice Biobele A. Georgewill, who led the National Assembly Election Appeal Court Panel.
Ciroma Ahmed outlined that, in the judgment, Mr. Akobundu of the PDP was declared the winner on the grounds that Sen. Nwokocha of the LP was deemed ineligible to contest the elections.
Another case with similar contextual and legal elements was mentioned, involving Rep. Ginger Onwusibe of the LP, who was affirmed as the representative for the Isi-ala Ngwa North/South Federal Constituency of Abia by the same panel led by Justice Georgewill. In this instance, Onwusibe faced a challenge from Prof. Anthony Agbazuere of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who took the election results to the appellate court.
Ciroma Ahmed raised concerns about the shifting composition of the appeal panel, noting that it was changed and reconstituted three consecutive times before Justice Georgewill from Rivers was appointed to lead the panel.
In light of these developments, the coalition presented a series of demands, which include the immediate formation of a judicial review panel by the President of the Court of Appeal to scrutinize the circumstances surrounding the conflicting judgments. Additionally, they called upon the Chief Justice of Nigeria to convene a meeting of the National Judicial Council (NJC) to address the numerous allegations against judicial officials.
