News: Abia governorship election tribunal adjourns till July 24

No fewer than six Senior Advocates of
Nigeria appeared Monday at the Abia
State Governorship Election Petitions
Tribunal sitting in Umuahia in the suit
filed by Dr. Alex Otti of the All
Progressive Grand Alliance, against
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of the
Peoples Democratic Party.
On the parade for Otti were Chief
Akin Olunjimi; Olu Akeredolu; Chief
Awa Kalu – all SANs – among other
lawyers, while Wole Olanipekun,
Onyechi Ikpeazu and Livy Uzoukwu
(SANs) among other legal luminaries
appeared for Ikpeazu, the PDP and the
Independent National Electoral
Commission respectively.
The tribunal had fixed July 13, 2015,
for pretrial but the lead counsels for
Ikpeazu, the PDP, and INEC
respectively argued that they had yet
to be served the application for pre-
hearing, and contended that the
prehearing be adjourned.
Olanipekun argued that his client was
entitled to fair hearing “and fair
hearing entails service.”
But Otti’s counsel, Olujimi, argued that
“in paragraph 18 (1) of the
constitution, the issue of service has
been settled by the Supreme Court
which said service could be done by
motion on notice, by ex parte motion,
by letter or even by phone.”
He contended that the notice that the
Ikpeazu was entitled to was “in Form
TF 007 which is the hearing notice
served by the tribunal secretariat.”
Olunjimi, therefore, urged the tribunal
to proceed with the pre-hearing as it
had earlier slated, insisting that all the
necessary procedures had been
fulfilled.
But in his ruling, the Chairman of the
Tribunal, Justice Usman Bwala,
directed the court clerk to show the
application for pre-trial to the
respondents.
He explained that the tribunal had at
its last sitting fixed July 13, 2015 as
pre-hearing date to the hearing of all
parties.
Bwala, however, adjourned sitting till
July 24 and 25, 2015 for the
commencement of pre-hearing and to
make space for the respondents to be
served with forms 007, and 008.
Counsel for Otti, later in an interview,
said his client did not lose anything by
the long adjournment, explaining that
without service of the Form 007 to the
respondents, the trial would be a
nullity.
Counsel for Ikpeazu, however, refused
to address journalists who accosted
him for an interview.