6th May, 2011
The absence of Justice Bilikisu Aliyu from her duty post at the Federal High Court, Abuja Division on Thursday stalled the hearing of a suit that would have prevented the Independent National Election Commission from going ahead with plans to conduct a supplementary election to determine the winner of the governorship election in Imo state. The election is scheduled for Friday, 6th May.
Five indigenes the State had filed a separate suit seeking to stop the electoral body from going ahead with the planned supplementary election in the state just as a similar one filed by the All Progressive Grand Alliance ,APGA and its governorship candidate in Imo State, Owelle Rochas Okorocha did not go on.
The plaintiffs, namely Bob Njemanze, Kingsley Ihegworo, Chief Alan Onyemaechi, Nwokedi Jideofor and Emmanuel Ihim are asking the court to hold that the May 6th, 2011 supplementary election into the office of the Imo State Governor is unconstitutional.
In the case filed on their behalf by Mr. Kingsley Ihegworo , who is also one of the plaintiffs, they asked the court to issue an injunction, stopping the election.
According to them, the proposed election violates the provisions of Section 25(7) and (8) of the Electoral Act 2010.They therefore asked the court to declare that the holding of the supplementary election was alien to both the Electoral Act and the 1999 Constitution.
They also asked the court to declare that 27th April, 2011 was the last day limited by the Act and the Constitution for holding elections into the office of the governor of Imo State.The plaintiffs further asked the court to declare that any election by whatever description conducted by INEC into the office of the governor outside the period limited by law was unconstitutional and therefore of no effect.The case was assigned to Justice Bilikisu Aliyu and was supposed to be heard on Thursday but the judge did not show up in the court.
APGA and Okorocha had filed a similar case wherein they asked the court to stop the election.In a motion on notice filed on their behalbehalf by Professor Francis Dike, a senior advocate of Nigeria, APGA and Okorocha are seeking two injunctive reliefs.They warned that unless the court stopped the elections, there would likely be a breakdown of law and order in Imo State. They therefore asked the court for an order of interlocutory injunction suspending the decision of INEC to conduct supplementary election or any other election howsoever called on the May 6th, 2001 or any other date into the office of the Governor of Imo State pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit. Secondly, they asked the court for an order of interlocutory injunction restraining INEC from taking any step whatsoever or conducting supplementary elections or any elections howsoever called on the May 6th, 2011 or any other date into the office of the Governor of Imo State pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
—Nnamdi Felix / Abuja