Otapipia:

Are you a lawyer for real? How can you query the urgency with which INEC issued the certificate of return having regard to the clear and unambiguous language the court order was couched. The court used the word "forthwith" which means immediate effect. An appeal without more cannot operate as a stay, that is an elementary principle of law, just don't allow sentiments to becloud your alleged legal sense of reasoning.

TheFreeOne:


This is not about bringing ogah down.

My point is Ikpeazu maybe right in his assertion and all legal routes should be exploited to avoid having another legal imbroglio few months/years down the line.

If ogah eventually wins his court cases as mentioned by ikpeazu and the present governorship debacle then good for him.
But don't be surprised if a new twist brings in APCs Otti as the new governor cos in our present political atmosphere anything can happen.

Abians shouldn't be taken for fools by politicians.

TheFreeOne:


Does using the word 'client' automatically makes one a lawyer

Let's not get into my person here. I only shared that info to let people know Ikpeazu may be right regarding his claims.

I have no personal interest in Abia guber crisis. I just want justice for all concerned.

BlackSeptember:
Lies from the pit of hell. You can't bring Uche ogah down


U are just a small fly with a big lie

Subsidy ko Rubsidy ni

safarigirl:
Ikpeazu should stop embarrassing himself. Was the judgment by Okon-Qbang not because he also has a criminal charge he was even found guilty of? Does he think he's better than Ogah simply because he stole his way to power?

I cannot believe someone who jointly disenfranchised the people with kangaroo polling numbers has the effrontery to accuse others of having criminal charges simply because those who we entrusted to protect our votes failed.

In a sane country such a person ought to have resigned and handed himself over to the authorities instead of granting silly interviews so that a bunch of visionless youths can mindlessly support him and the other criminal.


Criminals should stop pointing fingers at each other

Otapipia:

Anyway, from an informed position, I am telling you that INEC did nothing wrong. Peace.

frankline5:
come and swear in ogah na.

Otapipia:

Anyway, from an informed position, I am telling you that INEC did nothing wrong. Peace.

TheFreeOne:
The woman whose signature was forged by ogah & co. is my 'client'. She personally told me about it and the case is in court.

Ikpeazu may not be far from the truth cos like I opined on another thread there seems to be a 'deal' behind the scene hence the rush by INECs almost immediate presentation of certificate of return to Ogah.

cktheluckyman:


INEC was wrong to have issued Ogah a certificate of return when Ikpeazu has presented to them a notice of appeal. The way it is, Ogah would only be carrying around a worthless piece of paper until the appeal court rules.

lagosrd:
Ogah's case is that of a man blessed by the devil and yet he cannot use the blessing. How can you have certificate of return and still sit down at home and not be able to function. Yeye dey smell

cktheluckyman:


INEC was wrong to have issued Ogah a certificate of return when Ikpeazu has presented to them a notice of appeal. The way it is, Ogah would only be carrying around a worthless piece of paper until the appeal court rules.

lordkhalifa:
Thief which people give the mandate 80% of Abians are against you, u barely manage to scale through after ur LGA Obingwa gave you 80,000 votes, out of 17 LGA in abia state u manage to win 2LGA and lose the remaining 15 to Alex Otti....


Abeg go, its high time we end godfatherism and orji's dynasty

TheFreeOne:
The woman whose signature was forged by ogah & co. is my 'client'. She personally told me about it and the case is in court.

Ikpeazu may not be far from the truth cos like I opined on another thread there seems to be a 'deal' behind the scene hence the rush by INECs almost immediate presentation of certificate of return to Ogah.

kahal29:


“A Notice of Appeal is clearly not a Stay and INEC has broken no Law in issuing Certificate of Return to Ogah. But they should have relied on the prudential principle by cautioning themselves, giving the fact that they have received a Notice of Appeal, which in itself, does not constitute a stay of execution of the order of the court. However INEC has broken no law by issuing the certificate of return to Ogah,”Agbakoba said.

TheFreeOne:
Olusola Fabiyi and Ogbonnaya Ikokwu

Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, has alleged that Mr. Uche Ogah is desperate to become the governor to get immunity against twelve impending criminal charges against him in some courts in Lagos State.

Ikpeazu said this while reacting to the issuance of Certificate of Return by the Independent National Electoral Commission to Ogah.

He said, “We are baffled by the urgency and the desperation to bounce into the government and when put side by side with the various criminal charges which border on different kinds of things which are subsisting in various courts in Lagos State against this same person, it becomes a little bit clearer why the desperation in the first place; (it’s) probably just to get a veil of immunity just to run away from the certainty of the court’s decision for or against him as it were. “What is on trial is our democracy; it is not about me as a person, but it is about the will of the people of Abia State. And why it is very difficult for the Abia people to accept it is that everyone knows that I have been working for the government in this environment.



“My last duty post was (in) the Abia State Environmental Protection agency and for anybody to say that I have problems with my tax, it will be strange to our people because they know I was working for the government and the government was paying me.

“The Board of Internal Revenue, whose duty it is to assess and levy tax has come out with the document and said it was issued by them and if there is any question to be asked, the BIR is the one to answer the question.

“I want to assure the people that this illegality will not stand but I will test it through the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.

“I want to dissuade the rumours that are making the round that some people are sponsoring this injustice against our state because we understand the current position of the government at the federal level against corruption and it cannot support somebody battling to wear the veil of immunity just because the person wants to run away from the certainty of justice.” The governor expressed surprise at the turn of events after he had filed an appeal to the judgement obtained by Ogah against him before an Abuja Federal High Court, which had annulled his election based on tax receipts.

He said, “Even if it was a death sentence that was passed on me, I don’t think I deserved to be executed without my right of appeal and that right is undeniable and fundamental.”

He described the court judgement as a temporary set-back and a plan to ambush the mandate which the people freely gave him in April 2015.

Ikpeazu said there was a court order restraining the state chief judge or any other legal officer in the country from swearing in Ogah, adding that he was still the governor.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party caucus in the Abia State House Assembly, led by Mr. Martin Azubuike and other PDP faithful in the state, has assured Ikpeazu of their support during a solidarity visit.

However, efforts to speak with Ogah were unsuccessful as he could not be reached for comments as of the time of filing this report. In a related development, INEC has confirmed that it was served with a copy of the appeal filed by the Ikpeazu to challenge his removal from office by an Abuja court.

The appeal was sequel to the victory secured in court by Ogah, which ordered the commission to issue him with a Certificate of Return immediately.

Justice Okon Abang had on Monday found Ikpeazu guilty of not presenting correct tax certificates along with his forms submitted to the electoral body.

The judge held that Ikpeazu, who was declared the winner of the PDP governorship primary in the state, ought to have been disqualified by the party.

However, many lawyers have queried the rationale behind the issuance of the certificate to Ogah, when the governor had appealed the ruling.

The commission, however, said the appeal filed by the governor did not contain a stay of execution of the high court judgement.

The Deputy Director of Publicity and Voter Education of INEC, Mr. Nick Dazang, said the commission didn’t do anything wrong by issuing the certificate.

He said, “Yes, he did (the governor served us with the notice of appeal). However, it (the appeal) did not contain a motion or order of stay of execution.

“In this circumstance and given INEC’s resolve to obey all subsisting court orders, it had no recourse as a responsible regulatory body/commission than to issue the Certificate of Return to Mr. Ogah. Recall that the High Court had earlier ordered INEC to comply forthwith.”

http://punchng.com/ogah-desperate-immunity-12-criminal-charges-ikpeazu/?utm_source=&utm_medium=twitter