The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Thursday, January 23, 2020, restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC from implementing two previous judgments of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja has given against Ifeanyi Ubah.
Ubah of the Young Progressives Party, YPP, is seeking to retain his seat in the Senate.
On April 11, 2019, Bello Kawu, the presiding judge of the FCT High Court in Kubwa, had sacked Ubah, the senator representing Anambra South. The judge reaffirmed his ruling on January 17, 2020 and ordered that Obinna Uzoh of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, be recognised as the winner of the election.
However, on Thursday, January 23, 2020, Taiwo Taiwo, the judge of the Federal High Court, in a suit filed by Ubah, stopped INEC from issuing a Certificate of Return to Uzor.
The Judge noted that the Court of Appeal had already affirmed Ubah’s election on September 9, 2019, and October 29, 2019.
He also noted that the Court of Appeal was the highest court on issues pertaining to National Assembly election appeals.
Justice Kawu, in an earlier judgment, in a suit by Obinna Uzoh of the People’s Democratic Party PDP, among others voided Ubah’s participation in the election.
The judge ordered Ubah’s sack from the Senate and his replacement by Uzoh.
Uzoh claimed among others, in the suit, that Ubah presented a forged National Examination Council, NECO, secondary school certificate to the INEC, which enabled him to contest the Anambra South Senatorial Election.
He equally urged the court to void YPP’s participation in the election on the grounds that it allegedly failed to conduct a primary for the Anambra South Senatorial election.
Upon the judgment in December, Ifeanyi Ubah applied that it be set aside on the grounds that he was denied fair hearing and was never allowed to participate in proceedings leading to the judgment, having not been served hearing notices throughout the duration of the case.
Other interested parties, also filed process, including the one that sought to make Chris Uba a party in the suit.
