Godwin Tsa Abuja
Barring any last minute change, the immediate past governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha, will today approach the Supreme Court to review the judgment that sacked him from office.
The apex court had penultimate Tuesday removed Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the governor and declared Senator Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the governor of Imo State.
The unanimous judgment of the court which was delivered by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun has since raised dust, with outcry and condemnation trailing it.
Daily Sun gathered that the legal team of the sacked governor has already prepared their legal documents that will be filed at the registrar of the apex court.
Meanwhile, a coalition of civil society groups, yesterday, picked holes in the judgment of the Supreme Court, just as it called on Ihedioha to approach the Supreme Court “to correct the patent errors in their judgment to ensure that justice is not only done but manifestly seen to be done.
The groups urged the Supreme Court “to take courage and recall the Imo state governorship matter and redress the error and restore justice, peace, hope and faith in democracy and regain the confidence of the Nigerian people.”
Manzo Abubakar of the Abuja Discussion Group, who read the statement on behalf of the coalition, added that the Supreme Court is left with no option than to review and reverse this anormaly, “even if it means applying a Judicial Doctrine of Necessity.
The confidence of Nigerians in the judiciary is at the lowest and we believe that the Supreme Court can help to restore it and save the future elections.
“This is the time to apply the famous dictum: “Justice must be rooted in confidence and confidence is destroyed when right-minded people go away thinking; the judge is biased.
“The Supreme Court is supreme and can creatively reinvent it’s own rules to do justice. It is necessary to do so now than ever to save Nigerian democracy, constitutionalism and retrieve the judicial and justice system from it’s present opprobrium.”
Other civil society groups at the press conference were Transparency Centre Network, Comrade Umar Farouk; Movement for the Protection of Peoples Rights, Baba Nagari; Coalition for Good Governance and Accountability, Adams Otakwe; Network for Freedom and Defence of Democracy, Musa Abdullahi; Center for Human Rights and Justice, Bassey Ewa; Human Rights among others.
and Accountability Project Comrade Paul;. Baba Ali, Rights Monitoring Network; Queen Onwughalu- Association of African Writers on Human and People Rights (AFRIRIGHTS) and Lucy Oparago- Youths for Electoral Transparency (YFET).