A State High Court in Owerri the Imo state capital has issued an order of interim injunction to the independent national electoral commission restraining it from recognizing Senator Ifeanyi Ararume as the winner of the December 2020 Imo North Senatorial candidate of the All progressives Congress (APC).
The injunction also restrains INEC from issuing Ararume a certificate of return or any other instrument in his favor in respect of the said election pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice in the suit.
According to Justice E.O Agaba of the Owerri High Court, this followed an application by motion exparte brought to it by The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), one Mr. Kelechi Soribe a member of the Imo State working committee of APGA, and five others against Senator Ifeanyi Ararume, INEC and the APC.
This modern injunction comes few hours after a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to problem a certificate of return to Ifeanyi Ararume based totally at the result of December five, 2020, Imo North Senatorial bye-election, having been declared because the valid candidate of the All Progressives Congress.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo who delivered the judgment ordered INEC to problem the certificate of return within 72 hours.
According to him, with regard to the Appeal Court judgment in Abuja, the third defendant (Chukwuma Ibezim) remained disqualified.
The Judge held in a judgment that Senator Ararume stays the true candidate of the APC and need to be declared the winner of the election.
Earlier, Justice Taiwo dismissed the Preliminary Objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain Senator Ararume’s suit filed by means of the APC and Chukwuma Ibezim.
Justice Taiwo, who described the utility as “an attempt to arrest the judgment,” brushed off it for missing in advantage.
Ararume had, thru his recommend informed Justice Taiwo Taiwo to invoke the judgments of a Federal High Court and that of an Appeal Court to disqualify Ibezim and declare him as the rightful candidate for APC.
Prior to the bye-election held on December five, 2020, Ibezim and Araraume had fielded themselves as APC applicants.
– Long Legal Tussle For Senatorial Seat –
Tunde Falola, who is the Counsel to Senator Ararume told newshounds after the courtroom ruling that the judgments of the High Court and later the Court of Appeal have conclusively disqualified Ibezim and therefore he cannot claim to be an aspirant or candidate within the Imo North Senatorial election.
In opposing Senator Ararume’s in shape, APC had told the court that it never fielded him for the December five, 2020, senatorial bye-election for Imo North Senatorial District of Imo State.
The birthday party had, insisted that Senator Ararume lacked the locus standi to lay claim to the candidacy and urged the court docket to disregard his fit.
Senator Ararume then dragged INEC, APC, and Mister Ibezim before the Federal High Court praying for an order to compel INEC to realise him as an APC senatorial candidate inside the election won by the birthday party.
He claimed that Ibezim, having been disqualified by a Federal High Court as a consequence of offering fake records to INEC to secure clearance and same disqualification having been upheld with the aid of the Court of Appeal in Abuja had knocked off Ibezim from laying any declare to the final results of the with the aid of-election.
But, the APC, via its recommend, Osho Daudu requested the court to discountenance Ararume’s claims insisting that his name was never forwarded to INEC but that of Chukwuma Francis Ibezim.
The suggest submitted that a Federal High Court judgment added in Owerri, Imo State which erroneously conferred locus on Ararume have been voided with the aid of Supreme Court and can not confer any gain at the plaintiff.
Emma Osayomi, representing Ibezim, in his own submissions, said that his consumer has approached the Supreme Court to undertaking his disqualification resulting from variation in his call.
The recommend argued that as on the election day, the call of his purchaser changed into on the INEC listing and now not that of Ararume and advised the court to dismiss Ararume’s claims and keep that Chukwuemeka Ibezim remains the APC candidate.
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