From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Supreme Court has reaffirmed Chief Edozie Njoku, as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
The apex court reached the decision on Friday while delivering judgment on an application by Chief Njoku, for the regularization of the amended judgment of Justice Mary Peter Odili delivered on May 9, 2022.
The application was accompanied by a letter of the Supreme Court to Chief Njoku on January 19, 2023, wherein the Supreme Court had addressed him as the National Chairman of APGA and advised him to approach the Court by way of a motion to correct the slip.
The accidental slip which was corrected by the Supreme Court, has restored Njoku as the actual National Chairman of APGA, that was wrongfully removed by a Jigawa High Court in Suit No: JDU/022/2021 between Alhaji Garba Aliyu and Chief Jude Okeke & 2 Ors.
In a lead Judgment, Justice Garba Lawal held that it was Chief Edozie Njoku that was wrongly removed at Jigawa without being joined as a party.
Subsequently, Justice Lawal stated that Njoku’s application was meritorious and consequently granted it as prayed.
Njoku has through his lawyer, Chike Onyemenam, SAN approached the court pursuant to Order 8 Rule 16 of the Supreme Court Rules and the inherent powers of the Court, to correct a typographical error and slip in the lead judgment of the Court in the appeal presided over by and delivered by Justice Mary Odili (Rtd).
The applicant in the suit had urged the apex court to correct an accidental slip on Page 13, Paragraph 1 of its judgment, where instead of stating the name of “Edozie Njoku” who was alleged to have been removed by the parties and whom the trial judge held to have been lawfully removed from his position as the validly elected National Chairman of APGA at the party convention held at Owerri in 2019, mistakenly inserted the name of Victor Oye whose name was never mentioned at the trial court.
Njoku in an affidavit he deposed to stated that “on 14/10/2021, with Hon Justice Mary Ukaego Peter Odili presiding, all the parties were heard in argument on the merit of the two substantive appeals with my counsel, Chike Onyemenam SAN fully canvassing arguments in respect of my preliminary objection and cross appeal nos SC/CV/686/2021 and SC/CV/687/2021 respectively.
“This Honourable Court on the same 14/10/2021 presided over by Hon Justice Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili decided that Judgment would be delivered in respect of Appeal No. SC/CV/687/2021 only and same would be binding on Appeal No SC/CV/686/2021; but in delivering the said Judgment, the Appeal Number was wrongly stated in the Lead Judgment to be Appeal No SC/CV/686/2021, instead of SC/CV/687/2021; while the name of “Chief Victor Oye” was wrongly stated instead of my name, “Chief Edozie Njoku” at Page 13 as stated above.
“Thereafter, I applied by my letter to the Presiding Justice who read the above Lead Judgment for the above accidental slip or error to be corrected and His Lordship examined the Records and corrected the said error by removing the name of Chief Victor Oye and replacing same with my name, Chief Edoze Nioku at Page 13 of the Judgment.
“My said Application Letter and the corrected Lead Judgment are hereby exhibited and marked Exhibits “G” and “G”” respectively. “Chief Victor Oye (the 2nd Respondent) whose name was erroneously inserted and who had nothing to do with the case at the Trial Court reacted by getting the Inspector-General of Police to arrest me and charge me to Court without any investigation before a Bwari High Court for “Forgery of a Supreme Court Judgment” and in spite of the Letter from the Presiding Justice who corrected the said error, Hon. Justice Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili (JSC), clearly exculpating me, the victim of the above accidental sip, I was remanded in Prison Custody by the Court pending Ruling on my Bail Application.
“The said Letter from the Presiding Justice is hereby exhibited and marked Exhibit “H”.
“Thereafter, the social media, at the behest of Chief Victor Oye and his sponsors, published that Chief Edozie Njoku had been sent to prison for forgery of a Supreme Court Judgment in collusion with Officers of the Supreme Court.
“The above false publication and the Criminal Charge which I am now made to face simply because I applied for the correction of an accidental slip which was approved and the error or slip corrected by the Presiding Justice of the Supreme Court, are hereby respectively exhibited and marked Exhibit’s J.
“The above events which all occurred as a result of an accidental slip or error in the Judgment of this Honourable Court and my efforts to have same corrected has led to a great political upheaval within my political party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and resulted in a heavy dent on my character and reputation, Njoku stated.
Recall that the Supreme Court had ruled that it did not have jurisdiction to entertain leadership squabbles of any political party in Nigeria.