Accord Party candidate vow to petition NJC over alleged travesty of justice

Following the National Assembly election in Ika federal constituency, in Delta State, Doris Uboh, Accord Party candidate in the 2015 elections has revealed that she intends to petition the National Judicial Council (NJC) over what she termed ‘travesty of justice’ in her case pending before the Court of Appeal, Benin, Edo State.

In the suit, Doris Uboh has challenged the judgment of the National Assembly Elections Petitions Tribunal which was delivered in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate, Mr. Victor Nwokolo.

In a statement through the Media Director of her campaign organisation, Mr. Chiedu Godwin, Doris Uboh, has said that she might have no alternative than approach the National Judicial Council (NJC) to seek redress over the way her case was handled at the Court of Appeal.

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According to Udoh, when the case first came up, the appellate court set aside the decision of the tribunal and ordered that the case be remitted to be tried on its merit within the 180 days, contending that the case was again struck out as a result of the expiration of the 180 days constitutional provision for elections related petitions to be disposed of when she went back to the tribunal for the continuation of the case.

In her words, “This development made me to approach the Court of Appeal for the second time where the appellate court ruled on December 10, this year, that the decision (judgment) of the lower court was a nullity,”

And with the ruling of the appellate court, she had only seven days left to further prosecute the case.

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Udoh stated further that efforts made by her legal team to get a copy of the ruling from the appellate court failed to yield the desired result as the document (ruling) was neither given to her nor her lawyers until December 16 when she had only one day left to continue with the case.

Quoting Udoh further, “The latest judgment by the Court of Appeal nullifying the judgment of the tribunal of October 19, means that the court order issued by Court of Appeal on October 16, 2015 is still valid the and that the case remains open."