Lawyers urge S/C To Deliver Justice on Enugu Governorship election



A foremost nongovernmental organisation in the Southeast, Oriental Lawyers for Justice, has requested the Supreme Court to deliver justice on the controversial Enugu State governorship election held on March 18.

The attorneys in a statement in Enugu on Sunday signed by the president of the organisation, Barrister John Bosco Aninwene, and the publicity secretary, Mrs Ifeoma Ejike said All Enugu people are asking is justice, nothing more than justice.



“Both the Enugu State Election Petitions Tribunal and the Court of Appeal delivered judgments on the matter when it was brought to them, but not justice.

“The Enugu people are expecting justice this time because the Supreme Court is the final court in the land and the closest approximation of the divine symbol of justice, fairness and equity” it stated



The lawyers said that the previous “controversial judgements by the lower courts can be excused on the ground that neither the Election Petitions Tribunal nor the Court of Appeal has the authority of finality on the matter, and so an obvious miscarriage of justice was tolerated”.

It stated that on each of the days the previous judgments were delivered, Enugu State was thrown into mourning, unlike in the neighbouring Abia State where justice was upheld at every stage and hundreds of people spontaneously jumped into the streets in wild jubilations.


According to the statement,
Abians confidence in the judiciary was rekindled.


“There is overwhelming evidence that the Labour Party won Enugu State in all the elections better than it won Abia”.



“Labour won seven of the eight House of Representatives seats, won two of the Senate seats, won 86% of the presidential votes cast in the state14 of the 24 House of Assembly seats which were held on the same day as the gubernatorial election”.



The civil society organisation described the evidence of overvoting in the Owoh hometown of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Peter Mbah, as axiomatic, accusing him of forging his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate.



“The drama surrounding Mbah”, according to the lawyers, “is embarrassing.



“He bribed a high court in Abuja to declare that the NYSC has no right to dissociate itself from his forged NYSC certificate.



“He got the Independent National Electoral Commission (NYSC) to declare him winner of an an election which he lost awfully, and has since become the butt of scorn and caricature throghout Enugu State and beyond”.



They said that Mbah rarely comes out of Government House “where he surrounds himself with an armada of fierce-looking securitymen surrounded by an awesome paraphernalia of violence for fear of an imminent attack by the ordinary people who have nothing but deep contempt for his moral integrity”.