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| Okezie Ikpeazu |
EMBATTLED governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu has won the first appeal delivered by the Court of Appeal in Abuja against the ruling of the Federal High Court which ordered him to vacateoffice for the plaintiff, Samson Ogah over falsification of tax clearance prior to the 2015 governorship election in thestate.
Following the development, the governor filed appeal at the Court of Appeal and also sought an injunction from Abia State High Court seeking to stop the Chief Judge of the state or any other judge in the state from inaugurating Samson Uche Ogah as Abia state Governor pending the determination of the appeal…
However, Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja on July 8 ignored the appeal duly entered and insisted that he had jurisdiction to hear a motion for stay of execution of his earlier judgments delivered on June 27.
Delivering the ruling, Justice Philomina Ekpe, who read the lead judgment, held that what Justice Abang failed to work within the doctrine of “stare decisis” by allowing a superior court to adjudicate on the matter rather than arrogating appellate powers to itself, and therefore held that Justice Abang lackedjurisdictions to entertain the matter.
Justice Ekpe also held that the Justice Abang wrongly interpreted the provisions of Order 4(10) and (11) of the Court of Appeal rules when he held that the said provisions were only applicable to an interlocutory ruling of the lower court and when a final judgment in a suit had been delivered.