The United Progressive Party (UPP) candidate for Orlu senatorial zone in the last general elections and journalist with Watchdog Newspaper, Comrade Precious Nwadike, has approached the Abuja Federal High Court, praying to be joined in the suit instituted by the Imo State Governor and APC candidate for the last elections, Owelle Rochas Okorocha.
In a motion on notice at the Abuja High Court, filed in pursuant of section 6, (6) (A) and (B) and 26 Rules 1.2 and 3 of the Federal High Court civil procedure rules 2009 under inherent jurisdiction of the honourable court, Comrade Nwadike, seeks an order of court to be joined in the pending suit as candidate of the UPP in the February 23, 2019 election for Imo West senatorial zone.
In the motion filed on behalf of the Applicant by his Counsel, Okere Kingdom Nnamdi, appearing with two other lawyers, part of the prayer of the Plaintiff is a request that the litigant in the subsisting suit, “Rochas Okorocha ought to be prosecuted and sentenced to prison for community electoral offences”.
In the originating suit No FHC/ABU/CS/296/2019 between Chief Rochas Okorocha as Plaintiff and Independent National Electoral Commission, two others, Hon. Jones Onyeriri and Senator Osita Izunaso, as Defendants, the Plaintiff is demanding that the electoral umpire issues him certificate of Return as declared winner of the February 23 election in Imo West.
It would be recalled that INEC had earlier taken notice that the election result for Imo West was declared under duress by the Returning Officer, Prof. Ibeawuchi.
Subsequently, the commission had at various occasions issued a categorical statement that it will not honour any election result declared under duress or at gun point.
In the motion filed at the High Court in Abuja, Comrade Nwadike marshaled out grounds upon which the applicants “the party seeking to be joined as the candidate of UPP in the March 23 election in Imo West senatorial zone, will be affected by one way or the other by the outcome of this suit. And that the reliefs sought by the Plaintiff is founded on illegality, criminality, mutilation of result sheets and allocation of fake scores and fake result sheets and gross violation of the electoral act and the guideline for the conduct of the 2019 elections, such will affect the rights of the Applicant seeking to be joined. Other points will be addressed when the proceedings begin”,it stated.
Meanwhile the matter has been slated for hearing at Abuja on April 4, 2019, when the Counsel for the Applicant will be heard.
Comrade Nwadike as part of his prayer in the motion claims that from the facts and circumstances of the Plaintiffs case, the Plaintiff ought not to be granted the reliefs sought and that the Applicant is desirous to defend his lawful votes and that a thorough compilation of the total lawful votes by each candidates in the one thousand five hundred and twenty nine (1,529) polling units spread across one hundred and thirty seven wards(137) of Imo West, the Applicant secured the highest number of lawful votes cast and ought to be returned elected.
He continued that rather than allow the officials of INEC collate the result from the various polling units and from there to the wards, LGA and senatorial district, the Plaintiff (Okorocha) hired thugs, criminals and hired assassins to harass, intimidate and cart away election results which is the product of fake result announced under duress, upon which he is seeking to compel the INEC to issue him Certificate of Return.
