Ondo election: How Jegede floored Jimoh Ibrahim at A-Court
ABUJA – The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja
has declared Mr. Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, as the
rightful candidate of the Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP, for the Ondo governorship election
billed for Saturday.
In a unanimous judgment, the Justice Ibrahim
Saulawa led three-man Special Panel of the
appellate court, vacated the June 29 judgement
of Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High
Court in Abuja, which directed the Independent
National Electoral Commission, INEC, to
recognise Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim as PDP
gubernatorial candidate for the poll.
Jegede had approached the appellate court to
challenge the high court verdict which ordered
INEC to only relate with the Ali Modu-Sheriff
faction of the PDP.
Justice Abang had on October 14, also re-
affirmed his decision, even as he warned the
electoral body against accepting any candidate
nominated by the Senator Ahmed Markafi-led
National Caretaker Committee of the PDP.
Acting on the strength of the order, INEC,
promptly removed Jegede’s name from the list
of candidates for the Ondo gubernatorial poll,
and replaced it with Mr. Ibrahim.
It will be recalled that whereas Jegede
emerged from primary election that was
sanctioned by the Markarfi-led NWC of the
PDP, Ibrahim on the other hand, secured his
ticket from the Modu-Sheriff faction of the
party.
Meanwhile, in its verdict on Wednesday, the
appellate court, held that Justice Abang’s
refusal of to grant fair hearing to Jegede,
“rendered the entire proceedings before his
court a nullity”.
According to Justice Saulawu, “Indeed it is
obvious from the records that the appellant’s
name had been duly published as the
governorship candidate of the 11th respondent
(PDP) for the November 26 Ondo governorship
election” It held that the lower court was in grievous
error when it ordered the publication of
Ibrahim’s name.
It said the decision of the high court was in
total breach of the provision of section 36 of
the 1999 constitution, which it said forbade any
court from denying fair hearing to a party likely
to be affected by final decision of the court.
Justice Saulawa, said the action of the court
violated the legal doctrine of audi altarem
partem.
“The tenets of natural Justice entails that a
party ought to be heard prior to determination
of case against them”.
The appellate court also noted that Justice
Abang ordered INEC to “immediately” recognise
Mr. Ibrahim who was never a party in the suit
that culminated to both the June 29 and
October 14 judgments.
“The Court below had no jurisdictional
competence to make such order. I have no
restriction in the circumstance in resolving the
second issue equally in favour of the
appellant”.
It said that Justice Abang “unilaterally”, raised
issues that were not included by the plaintiffs,
an action it said amounted to “a violent
attitudinal disposition to the rule of law”.
Besides, the court said the primary election
that was conducted by the State Chapter of the
PDP loyal to Modu-Sheriff, which produced Mr.
Ibrahim, was a nullity.
It said the law was very clear on which organ
of a party should conduct governorship primary
elections.
“It is worth reiterating at this point that any
primary election by state chapter of a party, be
it the PDP or any other party, is undoubtedly, in
the eye of the law, an illegal contraption that
carries with it no legal or equitable right at all.
It is in its entirety a nullity”, the appellate court
held.
Prior to delivery of the judgement, Justice
Saulawa, said the panel was at a time,
“subjected to a very intimidating and brow-
beating treatment by counsel the
Respondents”.
“Most regrettably, the Respondents have
deemed it expedient to shoot themselves on
the foot. Instead of adhering to the wise
counsel of the Court to file brief within the time
limit, even the extra day that was granted to
them, they refused to do so.
“The consequences of the Respondents failing
to file their brief by virtue of Order 18 of the
Court of Appeal Rules is very obvious and we
have made it clear in our judgment”.
Justice Saulawa noted that instead of filing
their brief of argument, the Respondents
insisted that the appellate court had lost its
jurisdiction to entertain Jegede’s suit by virtue
of the appeal they lodged at the Supreme
Court.
“I have most critically appraised the preliminary
objection by Nwufor, SAN, and I found that it is
most grossly lacking in merit and it is
accordingly dismissed.
“Having effectively dealt with the preliminary
objection, I now proceed to determine the
appeal on its merit”.
The court noted that Jegede filed his appeal on
November 11, which raised seven issues for
determination.
The issues included whether it was proper for
the high court to order INEC to jettison
Jegede’s name after he had already been
nominated by the PDP and his name published.
Olanipekun argued that the high court lacked
jurisdiction to determine who should be the
candidate of a political party.
Relying on decided case-law in Lado vs CPC,
Olanipekun, stressed that the issue of
nomination of candidates for an election is a
domestic affair of a political party which no
court has the jurisdiction to meddle into.
He said Justice Abang was wrong when he
held that he had the requisite jurisdiction to
determine the matter.
The appellate court, in arriving at its decision,
said it was necessary that it determined
whether or not the appellant was denied fair
hearing by the lower court.
It consequently resolved all the seven issues in
Jegede’s favour.
“There is no gain saying that this appeal is
grossly meritorious and is hereby allowed”.
An initial three-man panel that was headed by
Justice Jummai Hanatu-Sankey earlier recused
itself from resolving the dispute, following
allegation that it collected N350million bribe
from Governors Olusegun Mimiko and Nyesom
Wike of Ondo and Rivers States, respectively.
The allegation was contained in a petition that
PDP Chairman in Ondo state, Prince Biyi Poroye
wrote against the panel wherein he insisted
that they were compromised.
Sequel to withdrawal of the Justice Hannatu-
Sankey-led panel, the PCA, constituted the
fresh panel which Poroye and five other PDP
Chieftains from the South West loyal to Modu-
Sheriff, also wanted the Supreme Court to
disband.
In their application that was refused by the
apex court on Tuesday, Poroye’s group,
contended that the new panel was set up in
breach of their right to fair hearing guaranteed
under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution.
They prayed for an order, returning “case files
relating to the appeals and the application for
leave to appeal as an interested party (against
the decision of the Federal High Court of 14th
October 2016 in suit No. FHC/ABJ/
CS/395/2016) – filed by Eyitayo Jegede
(factional PDP candidate of the Ondo PDP), to
the Registry of the Court of Appeal to take its
normal course and turn in the docket of the
court.”
The appeals that would have been affected by
their motion were CA/A/551/2016 filed by
Ahmed Makarfi and Ben Obi against Biyi Poroye
and 10 others, CA/A/551A/2016 filed by
Clement Faboyede and another against 10
others; CA/A551B/2016 filed by the PDP
against Biyi Poroye and 9 others and CA/
A/551C/2016 filed by Eyitayo Jegede against
Prince Biyi Poroye and 10 others.
They argued that not only did the PCA acted
without hearing from them, they said the case,
being a pre-election matter, did not warrant
any urgency to require the constitution of a
special panel.
They added that those who filed the appeals
against the June 29 and October 14 decisions
of Justice Abang, including Jegede and Markafi,
were not joined as parties at the trial court.
It was equally their argument that no orders
were made against any of those behind the
appeals, and that they (the applicants), who
were plaintiffs in the suits, were not informed
when the PCA acted solely on the request by
the appellants to constitute the panel on the
grounds of urgency.
However, the Supreme Court, on Tuesday,
cleared the coast for the appellate court to
deliver the verdict which it suspended on
November 18.
The apex court, in a unanimous ruling by a
five-man panel of Justices led by the Acting
Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter
Onnoghen, declined to disband the Special
Panel constituted by President of the Court of
Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, to resolve
the Ondo PDP dispute.
Aside dismissing motions to stay proceedings
of the appellate court, filed by the six PDP
Chieftains, the Supreme Court, awarded a
cumulative cost of N3million to each of the
three Justices of the appellate court.
Poroye and his group had joined the three
appellate court Justices, Saulawa, Igwe Aguba
and George Mbaba, as 5th to 7th Respondents
in the appeal before the apex court.
The Acting CJN, Justice Onnoghen who
delivered the lead ruling, ordered that counsel
to the appellants, Chief Beluolisa Nwufor, SAN,
should personally pay the cost from his pocket.
The apex court further ordered the appellants
to pay N500, 000 cost to the four other
Respondents in the matter among whom
included Jegede.
Justice Onnoghen held that it was wrong for
Poroye and his group to drag the appellate
court Justices into the matter knowing that
they were only carrying out a judicial duty that
was duly assigned to them.
“The 6th to 7th Respondents who are Justices
of the Court of Appeal were constituted by
appropriate authority to hear and determine the
case were not parties before the lower court
and whatever they did was in their official
capacity as judicial officers.
“Judicial officers enjoy immunity in the
performance of their duties and are not liable
to be subjected to this kind of intimidation”,
Justice Onnoghen held.
He stressed that joining them as Respondents
in the matter “was not only an attempt to
intimidate and scandalise the judiciary, but to
put it in a mild way, an action in bad faith”.
Justice Onnoghen also noted that the
appellants (Poroye and his group), had also
petitioned a previous panel of Justices of the
appellate court that handled the case.
“If the applicants are allowed to continue with
this prank, there will be no end in sight and it
will not augur well. In the circumstance, there
is no merit in this appeal and it is hereby
dismissed”.
While concurring with the lead ruling, another
member of the apex court panel, Justice Kumai
Akaahs, held that action of the appellants was
“capable of bringing anarchy”.
Nevertheless, the apex court panel fixed
Thursday to hear the substantive suit
challenging leave that was granted to Jegede
to appeal the high court judgement that
recognised Mr Ibrahim as PDP flag-bearer for
the election.
The Appellants had lodged 14 different appeals
before the Supreme Court.
Their counsel, Chief Nwufor, SAN, on Tuesday,
withdrew 10 motions that forced the appeal
court panel to suspend further proceedings on
the Ondo PDP crisis.
Nwufor said his decision to withdraw the
applications was to enable the apex court to
hear the substantive suit challenging the
competence of entire appeals before the Justice
Saulawa led Special Panel.
In its ruling dismissing motions for stay of
proceedings at the appellate court, the Supreme
Court awarded N250,000 against the applicants
in each of the 10 withdrawn motions.
The applicants were directed to pay a
cumulative N2.5m to the respondents.
The six PDP chieftains had among other things,
urged the apex court to determine whether the
President of the Court of Appeal, Justice
Bulkachuwa, was right when she constituted a
special panel to hear cases filed against
Justice Abang’s judgement, by Jegede,
Senators Markarfi and Obi.
Poroye and his group contended that the panel
had in a ruling it delivered on November 16,
okayed Jegede’s appeal, despite being aware
that the Supreme Court was already seized of
the facts in dispute.
The Justice Saulawa-led panel had on
November 18, adjourned sine-die (indefinitely),
further hearing on the matter.
The panel handed-off the dispute, barely 48
hours after it reserved judgment on Jegede’s
appeal.
Justice Saulawa said the panel took the
decision after it was served with a motion from
the Supreme Court for the proceeding at the
appellate court to be suspended.
“We were served a motion in suit No CA/
A/551b/2016, which was filed in the Supreme
Court on November 17”, he stated.
He said the motion had among other things,
prayed the apex court to invoke its disciplinary
powers against the appellate court panel.
The Poroye led group, who are Respondents in
Jegede’s appeal, further prayed the apex court
to not only set aside proceedings of the
appellate court, but to also restrain the special
panel from further adjudicating on the dispute.
Besides, they equally applied for an order
disqualifying/recusing all members of the
special panel on the ground that they betrayed
there Oath of Office by their refusal to be
bound by laid down judicial principle of staris-
decisis.
Determined to stop the appellate court from
delivering its verdict, the group asked the
Supreme Court to halt further proceeding at the
lower court.
While dismissing the motions after they were
withdrawn, Justice Onnoghen directed the
appellate court panel “to continue its
proceedings forthwith”.
The appellate court panel had initially refused
to hands-off the Ondo PDP dispute, even as it
allowed Jegede’s lead counsel, Chief Wole
Olanipekun, SAN, to adopt his processes in the
appeal to enable it to deliver judgment on the
matter.
Olanipekun had argued that the court had a
constitutional responsibility to do justice in the
case, saying the appellate court would be
abdicating its duties should it allow itself to be
stampeded into handing-off the matter.
The panel had on September 8, suspended
hearing on two other cases relating to the Ondo
governorship crisis, following appeals also
pending before the Supreme Court.
The two cases were filed by members of the
PDP, Benson Akingboye and Ehiozuwa
Agbonayiwa.
Nwufor, SAN, had insisted that allowing the
appellate court panel to hear either Jegede or
Markafi’s appeals would amount to an act of
“judicial rascality” since the matter was already
before the apex court.
He argued that in line with the legal principle of
lis-pendis, the appellate court ought to hands-
off the case to avoid a situation where it would
conduct a parallel proceeding with the Supreme
Court on the same subject matter.
“In view of the unchallenged facts brought to
the notice of this court that an appeal against
the ruling granting leave to the appellant to
appeal the high court judgment, which this
court made on November 10, is already before
the Supreme Court and has been entered.
“It is therefore our position that this court has
lost its jurisdiction to continue with this matter.
By order 5 Rule 11 of the Supreme Court Rules
1985, as amended, the Supreme Court is now
seized of the whole of this proceeding as
between the parties herein.
“It is also an undisputed fact that a motion on
notice for staying of all further proceedings and
further hearing in this appeal is pending at the
Supreme Court and has been drawn to the
notice of this court.
“We thus maintain that this panel cannot
entertain further proceedings until that motion
is decided by the apex court, one way or the
other.
“Proceeding to hear this appeal will amount to
an effort in futility. It will amount to judicial
rascality and judicial impertinence.
“I submit that this court should not conduct
parallel proceeding with the Supreme Court
regarding the same case, but should allow the
apex court, in line with the dictates of the
hierarchy of courts established by the
constitution, which places the Supreme Court
above this court, to take a decision regarding
the pending motion for stay of proceedings
already before it.
“I urge you to follow your own earlier rulings in
CA/A/402/2016 and CA/A/402a/ 2016,
delivered on September 8, concerning this same
Ondo PDP crisis”, Nwufor submitted.
has declared Mr. Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, as the
rightful candidate of the Peoples Democratic
Party, PDP, for the Ondo governorship election
billed for Saturday.
Saulawa led three-man Special Panel of the
appellate court, vacated the June 29 judgement
of Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High
Court in Abuja, which directed the Independent
National Electoral Commission, INEC, to
recognise Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim as PDP
gubernatorial candidate for the poll.
Jegede had approached the appellate court to
challenge the high court verdict which ordered
INEC to only relate with the Ali Modu-Sheriff
faction of the PDP.
Justice Abang had on October 14, also re-
affirmed his decision, even as he warned the
electoral body against accepting any candidate
nominated by the Senator Ahmed Markafi-led
National Caretaker Committee of the PDP.
Acting on the strength of the order, INEC,
promptly removed Jegede’s name from the list
of candidates for the Ondo gubernatorial poll,
and replaced it with Mr. Ibrahim.
It will be recalled that whereas Jegede
emerged from primary election that was
sanctioned by the Markarfi-led NWC of the
PDP, Ibrahim on the other hand, secured his
ticket from the Modu-Sheriff faction of the
party.
Meanwhile, in its verdict on Wednesday, the
appellate court, held that Justice Abang’s
refusal of to grant fair hearing to Jegede,
“rendered the entire proceedings before his
court a nullity”.
According to Justice Saulawu, “Indeed it is
obvious from the records that the appellant’s
name had been duly published as the
governorship candidate of the 11th respondent
(PDP) for the November 26 Ondo governorship
election” It held that the lower court was in grievous
error when it ordered the publication of
Ibrahim’s name.
It said the decision of the high court was in
total breach of the provision of section 36 of
the 1999 constitution, which it said forbade any
court from denying fair hearing to a party likely
to be affected by final decision of the court.
Justice Saulawa, said the action of the court
violated the legal doctrine of audi altarem
partem.
“The tenets of natural Justice entails that a
party ought to be heard prior to determination
of case against them”.
The appellate court also noted that Justice
Abang ordered INEC to “immediately” recognise
Mr. Ibrahim who was never a party in the suit
that culminated to both the June 29 and
October 14 judgments.
“The Court below had no jurisdictional
competence to make such order. I have no
restriction in the circumstance in resolving the
second issue equally in favour of the
appellant”.
It said that Justice Abang “unilaterally”, raised
issues that were not included by the plaintiffs,
an action it said amounted to “a violent
attitudinal disposition to the rule of law”.
Besides, the court said the primary election
that was conducted by the State Chapter of the
PDP loyal to Modu-Sheriff, which produced Mr.
Ibrahim, was a nullity.
It said the law was very clear on which organ
of a party should conduct governorship primary
elections.
“It is worth reiterating at this point that any
primary election by state chapter of a party, be
it the PDP or any other party, is undoubtedly, in
the eye of the law, an illegal contraption that
carries with it no legal or equitable right at all.
It is in its entirety a nullity”, the appellate court
held.
Prior to delivery of the judgement, Justice
Saulawa, said the panel was at a time,
“subjected to a very intimidating and brow-
beating treatment by counsel the
Respondents”.
“Most regrettably, the Respondents have
deemed it expedient to shoot themselves on
the foot. Instead of adhering to the wise
counsel of the Court to file brief within the time
limit, even the extra day that was granted to
them, they refused to do so.
“The consequences of the Respondents failing
to file their brief by virtue of Order 18 of the
Court of Appeal Rules is very obvious and we
have made it clear in our judgment”.
Justice Saulawa noted that instead of filing
their brief of argument, the Respondents
insisted that the appellate court had lost its
jurisdiction to entertain Jegede’s suit by virtue
of the appeal they lodged at the Supreme
Court.
“I have most critically appraised the preliminary
objection by Nwufor, SAN, and I found that it is
most grossly lacking in merit and it is
accordingly dismissed.
“Having effectively dealt with the preliminary
objection, I now proceed to determine the
appeal on its merit”.
The court noted that Jegede filed his appeal on
November 11, which raised seven issues for
determination.
The issues included whether it was proper for
the high court to order INEC to jettison
Jegede’s name after he had already been
nominated by the PDP and his name published.
Olanipekun argued that the high court lacked
jurisdiction to determine who should be the
candidate of a political party.
Relying on decided case-law in Lado vs CPC,
Olanipekun, stressed that the issue of
nomination of candidates for an election is a
domestic affair of a political party which no
court has the jurisdiction to meddle into.
He said Justice Abang was wrong when he
held that he had the requisite jurisdiction to
determine the matter.
The appellate court, in arriving at its decision,
said it was necessary that it determined
whether or not the appellant was denied fair
hearing by the lower court.
It consequently resolved all the seven issues in
Jegede’s favour.
“There is no gain saying that this appeal is
grossly meritorious and is hereby allowed”.
An initial three-man panel that was headed by
Justice Jummai Hanatu-Sankey earlier recused
itself from resolving the dispute, following
allegation that it collected N350million bribe
from Governors Olusegun Mimiko and Nyesom
Wike of Ondo and Rivers States, respectively.
The allegation was contained in a petition that
PDP Chairman in Ondo state, Prince Biyi Poroye
wrote against the panel wherein he insisted
that they were compromised.
Sequel to withdrawal of the Justice Hannatu-
Sankey-led panel, the PCA, constituted the
fresh panel which Poroye and five other PDP
Chieftains from the South West loyal to Modu-
Sheriff, also wanted the Supreme Court to
disband.
In their application that was refused by the
apex court on Tuesday, Poroye’s group,
contended that the new panel was set up in
breach of their right to fair hearing guaranteed
under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution.
They prayed for an order, returning “case files
relating to the appeals and the application for
leave to appeal as an interested party (against
the decision of the Federal High Court of 14th
October 2016 in suit No. FHC/ABJ/
CS/395/2016) – filed by Eyitayo Jegede
(factional PDP candidate of the Ondo PDP), to
the Registry of the Court of Appeal to take its
normal course and turn in the docket of the
court.”
The appeals that would have been affected by
their motion were CA/A/551/2016 filed by
Ahmed Makarfi and Ben Obi against Biyi Poroye
and 10 others, CA/A/551A/2016 filed by
Clement Faboyede and another against 10
others; CA/A551B/2016 filed by the PDP
against Biyi Poroye and 9 others and CA/
A/551C/2016 filed by Eyitayo Jegede against
Prince Biyi Poroye and 10 others.
They argued that not only did the PCA acted
without hearing from them, they said the case,
being a pre-election matter, did not warrant
any urgency to require the constitution of a
special panel.
They added that those who filed the appeals
against the June 29 and October 14 decisions
of Justice Abang, including Jegede and Markafi,
were not joined as parties at the trial court.
It was equally their argument that no orders
were made against any of those behind the
appeals, and that they (the applicants), who
were plaintiffs in the suits, were not informed
when the PCA acted solely on the request by
the appellants to constitute the panel on the
grounds of urgency.
However, the Supreme Court, on Tuesday,
cleared the coast for the appellate court to
deliver the verdict which it suspended on
November 18.
The apex court, in a unanimous ruling by a
five-man panel of Justices led by the Acting
Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter
Onnoghen, declined to disband the Special
Panel constituted by President of the Court of
Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, to resolve
the Ondo PDP dispute.
Aside dismissing motions to stay proceedings
of the appellate court, filed by the six PDP
Chieftains, the Supreme Court, awarded a
cumulative cost of N3million to each of the
three Justices of the appellate court.
Poroye and his group had joined the three
appellate court Justices, Saulawa, Igwe Aguba
and George Mbaba, as 5th to 7th Respondents
in the appeal before the apex court.
The Acting CJN, Justice Onnoghen who
delivered the lead ruling, ordered that counsel
to the appellants, Chief Beluolisa Nwufor, SAN,
should personally pay the cost from his pocket.
The apex court further ordered the appellants
to pay N500, 000 cost to the four other
Respondents in the matter among whom
included Jegede.
Justice Onnoghen held that it was wrong for
Poroye and his group to drag the appellate
court Justices into the matter knowing that
they were only carrying out a judicial duty that
was duly assigned to them.
“The 6th to 7th Respondents who are Justices
of the Court of Appeal were constituted by
appropriate authority to hear and determine the
case were not parties before the lower court
and whatever they did was in their official
capacity as judicial officers.
“Judicial officers enjoy immunity in the
performance of their duties and are not liable
to be subjected to this kind of intimidation”,
Justice Onnoghen held.
He stressed that joining them as Respondents
in the matter “was not only an attempt to
intimidate and scandalise the judiciary, but to
put it in a mild way, an action in bad faith”.
Justice Onnoghen also noted that the
appellants (Poroye and his group), had also
petitioned a previous panel of Justices of the
appellate court that handled the case.
“If the applicants are allowed to continue with
this prank, there will be no end in sight and it
will not augur well. In the circumstance, there
is no merit in this appeal and it is hereby
dismissed”.
While concurring with the lead ruling, another
member of the apex court panel, Justice Kumai
Akaahs, held that action of the appellants was
“capable of bringing anarchy”.
Nevertheless, the apex court panel fixed
Thursday to hear the substantive suit
challenging leave that was granted to Jegede
to appeal the high court judgement that
recognised Mr Ibrahim as PDP flag-bearer for
the election.
The Appellants had lodged 14 different appeals
before the Supreme Court.
Their counsel, Chief Nwufor, SAN, on Tuesday,
withdrew 10 motions that forced the appeal
court panel to suspend further proceedings on
the Ondo PDP crisis.
Nwufor said his decision to withdraw the
applications was to enable the apex court to
hear the substantive suit challenging the
competence of entire appeals before the Justice
Saulawa led Special Panel.
In its ruling dismissing motions for stay of
proceedings at the appellate court, the Supreme
Court awarded N250,000 against the applicants
in each of the 10 withdrawn motions.
The applicants were directed to pay a
cumulative N2.5m to the respondents.
The six PDP chieftains had among other things,
urged the apex court to determine whether the
President of the Court of Appeal, Justice
Bulkachuwa, was right when she constituted a
special panel to hear cases filed against
Justice Abang’s judgement, by Jegede,
Senators Markarfi and Obi.
Poroye and his group contended that the panel
had in a ruling it delivered on November 16,
okayed Jegede’s appeal, despite being aware
that the Supreme Court was already seized of
the facts in dispute.
The Justice Saulawa-led panel had on
November 18, adjourned sine-die (indefinitely),
further hearing on the matter.
The panel handed-off the dispute, barely 48
hours after it reserved judgment on Jegede’s
appeal.
Justice Saulawa said the panel took the
decision after it was served with a motion from
the Supreme Court for the proceeding at the
appellate court to be suspended.
“We were served a motion in suit No CA/
A/551b/2016, which was filed in the Supreme
Court on November 17”, he stated.
He said the motion had among other things,
prayed the apex court to invoke its disciplinary
powers against the appellate court panel.
The Poroye led group, who are Respondents in
Jegede’s appeal, further prayed the apex court
to not only set aside proceedings of the
appellate court, but to also restrain the special
panel from further adjudicating on the dispute.
Besides, they equally applied for an order
disqualifying/recusing all members of the
special panel on the ground that they betrayed
there Oath of Office by their refusal to be
bound by laid down judicial principle of staris-
decisis.
Determined to stop the appellate court from
delivering its verdict, the group asked the
Supreme Court to halt further proceeding at the
lower court.
While dismissing the motions after they were
withdrawn, Justice Onnoghen directed the
appellate court panel “to continue its
proceedings forthwith”.
The appellate court panel had initially refused
to hands-off the Ondo PDP dispute, even as it
allowed Jegede’s lead counsel, Chief Wole
Olanipekun, SAN, to adopt his processes in the
appeal to enable it to deliver judgment on the
matter.
Olanipekun had argued that the court had a
constitutional responsibility to do justice in the
case, saying the appellate court would be
abdicating its duties should it allow itself to be
stampeded into handing-off the matter.
The panel had on September 8, suspended
hearing on two other cases relating to the Ondo
governorship crisis, following appeals also
pending before the Supreme Court.
The two cases were filed by members of the
PDP, Benson Akingboye and Ehiozuwa
Agbonayiwa.
Nwufor, SAN, had insisted that allowing the
appellate court panel to hear either Jegede or
Markafi’s appeals would amount to an act of
“judicial rascality” since the matter was already
before the apex court.
He argued that in line with the legal principle of
lis-pendis, the appellate court ought to hands-
off the case to avoid a situation where it would
conduct a parallel proceeding with the Supreme
Court on the same subject matter.
“In view of the unchallenged facts brought to
the notice of this court that an appeal against
the ruling granting leave to the appellant to
appeal the high court judgment, which this
court made on November 10, is already before
the Supreme Court and has been entered.
“It is therefore our position that this court has
lost its jurisdiction to continue with this matter.
By order 5 Rule 11 of the Supreme Court Rules
1985, as amended, the Supreme Court is now
seized of the whole of this proceeding as
between the parties herein.
“It is also an undisputed fact that a motion on
notice for staying of all further proceedings and
further hearing in this appeal is pending at the
Supreme Court and has been drawn to the
notice of this court.
“We thus maintain that this panel cannot
entertain further proceedings until that motion
is decided by the apex court, one way or the
other.
“Proceeding to hear this appeal will amount to
an effort in futility. It will amount to judicial
rascality and judicial impertinence.
“I submit that this court should not conduct
parallel proceeding with the Supreme Court
regarding the same case, but should allow the
apex court, in line with the dictates of the
hierarchy of courts established by the
constitution, which places the Supreme Court
above this court, to take a decision regarding
the pending motion for stay of proceedings
already before it.
“I urge you to follow your own earlier rulings in
CA/A/402/2016 and CA/A/402a/ 2016,
delivered on September 8, concerning this same
Ondo PDP crisis”, Nwufor submitted.
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