The Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has reserved its judgment in the appeal filed against the ruling of Justice Jane Inyang of the Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
Justice Inyang had on Wednesday, November 11, 2020, struck out the originating summons brought by Owoupele Eneoriekumoh, a kinsman of the former governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, against the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and Dickson as first, second and third respondents in a pre-election matter for want of jurisdiction.
Owoupele had prayed the trial court to disqualify Seriake Dickson, who is now the Senator representing Bayelsa West in the National Assembly, on the basis that he had submitted false and forged information contained in his INEC form EC9.
At the hearing of the appeal on Tuesday, January 5, 2021, counsel for the appellant, Ebikebuna Aluzu, Esq., urged the court to allow the appeal by reversing the ruling of the trial court and further discountenance with the second and third respondents’ briefs of arguments having been filed out of time.
Counsel for the second respondent, Nicholas Obhise, Esq., and also holding the brief of F. N. Nwosu, Esq., counsel fo the third respondent (Dickson) urged the appellate court to uphold the decision of the trial court and dismiss the appeal.
But the court reserved its judgment for a later date to be communicated to the parties.
Source: The Nation
