Appeal Court strikes out senator’s motions seeking stoppage of Anambra senatorial election

The Court of Appeal, Abuja, on Tuesday struck out two motions filed by Sen. Annie Okonkwo, seeking stoppage of the conduct of the Jan.13 Anambra Central Senatorial District election.

The judge said the development had cleared all legal obstructions that could have created a pit in the conduct of the Jan.13 senatorial election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

“In view of the well thought out move by the applicant to withdraw his motions against the conduct of the Jan.13 Anambra Senatorial election, the court now reserves the power to strike out the motions.

“The motions are hereby struck out and the matter has come to a close’’, he said.

Okonkwo, an aggrieved aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for that election, had approached the appellate court with the motions against INEC to stop the election pending the determination of his main suit.

Okonkwo’s earlier filed motion for leave to appeal against the Nov. 20, 2017 decision of the Court of Appeal, which ordered INEC to conduct a re-run election in that senatorial district within 90 days.

Okonkwo had claimed that he was interested in challenging the decision of the appellate court as a senatorial aspirant.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the court on Jan.11 dismissed Okonkwo’s motion seeking to restrain INEC from conducting the re-run election.

In that judgment, Justice Yahaya held that the earlier order made on Nov. 20, 2017 directing INEC to conduct election for the senatorial seat within 90 days could not be reversed.

The judge said such action was not recognised by the court’s practice direction, and that the panel could not succumb to an invitation to make mockery of the judiciary.

NAN reports that INEC had successfully conducted the election with Chief Victor Umeh of APGA clinching the senatorial seat.