25th March, 2013
Candidate of the Democratic Peoples Party, DPP, at the last Delta state gubernatorial election, Mr. Great Ogboru has approached the Supreme Court urging the court to set aside an earlier judgment it granted affirming the victory of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
At the proceeding on Monday, Ogboru’s lawyer, Dr Dickson Osuala contended that the court should not have struck out his client’s appeal having found that the judgment of the court of appeal was a nulity.
He urged the court to set aside its decision delivered in March 2012 as, according to him, “it amounted to putting something on nothing”. He argued that since the apex court declared that the lower court’s judgment was a nulity, the proper order to make was to hear Ogboru’s appeal or remit the case back to the lower court for fresh hearing.
The court’s panel led by Justice Tanko Mohammed, drew Osuala’s attention to the fact that Ogboru’s former lawyer, Mr Sebastine Hon, a senior advocate of Nigeria, had earlier filed and withdrawn a similar application and that the new application would amount to an abuse of the process of the court.
In reply, Osuala told the court that Mr. Hon withdrew the application without the authority of Ogboru under suspicious circumstance.
The court warned Dr. Osuala not to cast aspersions on Mr. Hon, noting that a lawyer has the right to do his client’s case as he deemed fit.
Governor Uduaghan who was represented by Chief Wole Olanipekun, a senior advocate of Nigeria, argued that Chief Ogboru was bound by Hon’s withdrawal of his earlier application.
He cited cases to show that a lawyer had the authority to conduct his client’s case and that since Hon was briefed by Ogboru to represent him, Ogboru could not be heard to say that his application was withdrawn without his authorization.
“A lawyer is not a steward or servant of his client. He does not need the authority of his client to make concession or compromise” he further submitted and urged the court to hold that Mr. Hon acted with authority when he withdrew the application. He urged the court to dismiss the application because there must be an end to litigation.
Peoples Democratic Party and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, represented by Mrs. J.O Adesina and Onyechi Ikpeazu, both senior advocates of Nigeria, agreed with Olanipekun and called on the court to dismiss the case and award cost against Ogboru. Mrs. Adesina insisted that in so far as Mr. Hon had the authority of Ogboru to represent him, that whatever decision he took is binding on him (Ogboru).
The apex court thereafter adjourned to June 21, to decide whether to set aside its earlier decision in the matter.
—Nnamdi Felix/Abuja