The All Progressives Congress, APC has called for immediate removal of chairman of the National and State House of Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal in Akwa Ibom state, Justice Jennifer Ijohor.
The APC expressed concerns of bias and conflict of interest on the part of Justice Ijohor in delivering judgement since her husband Prof. Anthony Ijohor SAN is one of the stalwarts in the opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party, PDP in Benue state.
In a press conference addressed by the APC state chairman, Mr. Ini Okopido on Saturday at the state party secretariat, along Ikot Ekpene road, Uyo, the APC said there was every indications that the justice would not discharge her work objectively having being in a strong family ties with the PDP stalwart.
The statement read in parts, “Akwa Ibom State Chapter of the APC has established that Hon. Justice Jennifer Mbalamen Ijohor, who is the Chairman of Panel 2, National and State House of Assembly Election Petition in Akwa Ibom State, has a strong family relationship with a PDP stalwart, and so, there is a clear conflict of interest in her work as the Chairman of the Tribunal.
“Indeed, we can say categorically that the Hon. Justice cannot discharge her duties as objectively as we would expect.
“We know for a fact that the husband to Hon. Justice Jennifer Ijohor, Prof. Anthony Ijohor, SAN, is the Secretary to the Benue State Government under a PDP governor.
“Prof Ijohor is a strong PDP stalwart in Benue State. Before he was appointed SSG, Prof Ijohor was an Adviser to the PDP Government of Governor Ortom. He holds very strong and critical views about the APC. It is not farfetched if these sentiments are shared between husband and wife.”
Okopido who recalled a similar incident where the President of the Court of Appeal, Hon. Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa recused herself from presiding over the Presidential Election Petition Panel for the reason that her husband is an APC member said that Justice Ijohor should also honourably resign to save her integrity.
According to him, “Since Hon. Justice Jennifer Ijohor’s husband is a PDP stalwart in their home state of Benue, and she has shown obvious bias against us, we are similarly calling on Justice Ijohor to resign from presiding over the Election Petition Tribunal in AKwa Ibom State.
Stating the party’s other reasons for such call and instances of bias exhibited by Justice Ijohor, Okopido said “We have three major reasons to believe that Hon. Justice Jennifer Ijohor’s conflict of interest has become a burden for her, and so she has not been discharging her duties at the Tribunal objectively. One, the Petition number EPT/AKS/HR/08/2019 between Edidiong Efiong Idiong & APC (Petitioners) and Emmanuel Ukpong-Udo, PDP & INEC (Respondents) in respect of Ikono/Ini Federal House of Representatives was struck out on the strength of interlocutory injunction application. This was despite spirited arguments by Counsel to the Petitioners drawing the Panel’s attention to the relevant sections of the Law to persuade the Panel.
“Similarly, the Petition Number EPT/AKS/HR/03/2019 between Hon. Ekerete Ekpenyong & APC (Petitioners) and Hon. Michael Enyong, PDP & INEC (Respondents) for Uyo/Ibesikpo Asutan/Uruan/Nsit Atai Federal Constituency was denied the ammendments sought by the Petitioners at the pre hearing stage by the Hon. Justice Ijohor on the flimsy excuse that the name of the federal constituency was not written in full. Our lawyers’ spirited arguments to have that amended were turned down. Such amendments are being routinely granted by other Panels and indeed regular Courts. Of course, we have appealed these judgements.
“Another reason we believe that the Hon. Justice is biased against the APC and its candidates is rooted in the public statements and tweets of Henry Ijohor, who is the only son to the Hon. Justice. In his various statements and public communication, Henry has indicated more than a passing interest in the petitions filed at the various tribunals, particularly those in Akwa Ibom and Rivers State. In his tweet of 21st March, 2019, sent out at 8.24pm, Henry said: “The judges and lawyers handling Rivers and Akwa Ibom elections petitions have to be experienced. On the surface it’s obvious they’ll (sic) be a lot of pressure on them and a lot of work to be done” @BarrHenryIjohor.
Okopido also alleged of threats to the lives of APC witnesses in the ongoing elections petition tribunal by PDP and called on the Security agencies to track down the perpetrators of the act noting that the Party will never be cowed or intimidated.
However, the Peoples Democratic Party PDP through its publicity secretary in Akwa Ibom state, Ini Ememobong in a press statement tagged “APC’s Sustained Imposter syndrome” said APC’s claims and fears were unfounded and baseless noting that election petitions are of a special type and therefore not all the rules of civil procedure apply therein.
According to him, “In the cases mentioned by Mr. Okopido, the petitioners(APC and their candidates) failed or neglected to apply for Pre-trial forms which is in contravention of the provisions of the extant Electoral Act and the consequence is trite- the petition must be dismissed, same being incompetent.
“the issue of amendments sought for and denied by the three member tribunal( not the Chairman of the Tribunal), the law is specific that after the period allowed for filing of a petition, no amendment shall be made except to correct typographical errors. The amendments sought by the APC has the capacity to change the tone and character of their petition- this, the law clearly forbids.”
Ememobong who is also a lawyer said the calims of bias by APC did not add up as the chairman’s vote is not a veto saying, “it carries the same weight as that of the members and no more. Situations abound where the two members have voted against the decision of the chairman and their decision became that of the panel, the recent judgment of the Osun state Governorship election tribunal can refresh our minds on this subject. So if the rulings of the tribunal is against the APC, it is not the position of the judge complained about, but either the unanimous decision or majority decision of the panel.”
He said the APC should not allude the scenario of PCA, Bulkachuwa to that of Justice Ijohor because the two scenarios can be clearly distinguished as “PCA,Bulkachuwa posted ‘himself’ to the panel conscious of the existing political relationship between one of the parties (the Respondent) and ‘his’ family while In the case of Ijohor, the tribunal Chairman was posted by the PCA, without any contribution or influence by the Judge.”
“And recall that in the PCA’s case, personal relationships in addition to partisan ties between the parties were clearly brought to the fore. In the instant case, there is no proof of personal relationship between the parties before the tribunal and the chairman of the tribunal, except the inchoate allegation that her spouse is a member of the PDP. Even with that, there is no evidence to suggest that the husband of the chairman of the tribunal is a card carrying member of the PDP. That he was appointed SSG in Benue does not infer and cannot be construed to mean, that he is a member of the PDP.
“Membership of a political party is a process and documents exist in witness of same. There is no legal requirement that stipulates membership of a political party as a basis for appointment, unlike the case of the PCA, whose husband’s election to the senate was sponsored by the respondent before him. The SSG could have been appointed on the basis of his expertise and nothing more. The reliance on the illusionary social media post by an imaginary son of the Judge is most laughable, as we are all aware that in this age and time, mere name similarity is not a conclusive proof of biological relationship. There are suspicions that the APC is behind that post, in their usual scenario creation tactics.” He said.
