Tribunal judgements: PDP asks CJN for help

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has written the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, asking him to intervene in ensuring quick release of the Certified True Copies of judgments of the election petitions tribunal so that its interested members can pursue their appeal.

The Rivers State gubernatorial election petition tribunal, sitting in Abuja, had sacked the state Governor Nyesom Wike last Saturday, while delivering its judgement. It said his election was not conducted in substantial compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

The State/National Assembly election petitions tribunal also sacked 20 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly elected on the platform of the PDP, pointing that their election was characterized by irregularities.

In a letter signed by one of PDP's counsels, Chief Godwin Obla (SAN) on October 28, it urged the CJN see to the release of the CTC of judgments of Mr. Wali Belief Azeru vs. Michael Okechukwu Chinda and Dr. Oto Gwung Dressman vs. INEC and others..

The letter read in part, “Our worry over the above became more heightened when upon our written application to the tribunal for the CTC of the judgment or in the alternative, a CTC of the hand written judgment to be made available to us as to enable us to decide on the required step as promptly as possible, in view of the limited time frame for any subsequent step to challenge the judgment, same was bluntly turned by the registry of the tribunal as it questioned the visibility of acceding to the grant of the CTC of a document it has no access to even as it also equally raised the issue of directive to the tribunal in the open court that no such request could be acceded until three days after the judgment.”