Court “throws out” Okocha

The seven-man caretaker committee of the All Progressive Congress in Rivers State led by Chief Tony Okocha has been sacked by a State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt.

The committee was inaugurated by the National Working Committee of the APC, and had sacked the elected executives of the party led by Chief Emeka Beke.

Following the ruling by the court, the Beke led executive has been authenticated as the executive of the party in the state.

The Court presided over by Justice Sika Aprioku in a judgment in a suit filed by Sam Sam Etetegwung and Banarth Ezemoye and others, on behalf of the democratically elected executive of state and local government APC in the state, issued a perpetual injunction against Chief Tony Okocha led seven-man caretaker committee of the APC.

The judgment restrained Okocha and others from taking further steps that would distract the Beke led democratically elected executive till the expiration of their four years’ tenure.

The court also restrained the National leadership of the APC from further recognizing the Tony Okocha led executive and compelled them to henceforth begin to recognise Beke led executive as authentic executive of the party till their four years’ expiration.

He slammed the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for supporting the dissolution of democratically elected executives of APC, cautioning that leadership of political parties must learn to obey their own constitution and stop acting recklessly and in impunity in managing their own party.

Aprioku held that the national Working Committee of APC failed to prove reasons for or the actions which he said was in violation to their party and Nigeria Constitution, insisting that they relied on hearsay of anti-party activities which was not demonstrated by the defendants in the suit.

The judge who dismissed preliminary objections by the defendants on the issue of justification and application for joinder by a set of individuals who had earlier sought to join in the suit further held that the national leadership APC disobey their own constitution by not giving fair hearing to elected party executive and thereby award three hundred thousand naira as cost in favour of APC led by Chief Beke.

The court held that APC cannot benefit from their illegality and that inauguration of seven Man caretaker committee of APC led by Chief Tony Okocha is null and void and of no effect, insisting that the CTC Chairman and members never existed in the eyes of the law.

The court further struck out the suit by Ezekiel Ubom on behalf of Ward elected executive of APC for not following appropriate procedures in the filing of the processes.