By Otunba Camaru Lateef Ogidan, National Vice Chairman, South West, APGA.
On May 6, 2022 – Chief Edozie Njoku wrote a letter to Hon. Justice Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili (Rtd) as the lead panel including the other Justices in the panel namely;
Hon. Justice Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere Ekun
Hon. Justice Ibrahim Mohammed Saulawa
Hon. Justice Lawal Garba Mohammed
Hon. Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim.
In his letter, Chief Njoku called the attention of the entire panel to the error in Page 13, Paragraph 1 of the judgment delivered on October 14, 2021 in Suit No: SC/CV/687/2021; wherein the panel erroneously inserted Chief Victor Oye’s name instead of his (Chief Edozie Njoku) as the National Chairman of APGA that was wrongfully removed in Suit No. JDU/022/2021 at Jigawa.
Chief Edozie Njoku relied on Order 8 Rule 16 of Supreme Court to advance his case.
On May 9, 2022, the panel saw merit in his claim and amended the Judgment by removing Victor Oye’s name and replaced it with Chief Njoku’s name; making the lead judgment to read.
‘It needs to be stated at this point that the dispute being who should be the Acting National Chairman of the 1st Respondent APGA and whether the Chairman, Chief Edozie Njoku was validly replaced are within the confines of the internal affair of the 1st Respondent which is not justiciable.’
Immediately, Chief Edozie Njoku wrote to INEC calling their attention to this new development at the Supreme Court. They requested him to bring forward the Enrolment Order of the amended Judgment.
On July 15, 2022, Hon. Justice Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere Ekun signed the Enrolment Order of the amended Judgment which was applied through the office of the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court (Hajo Sarki Bello).
On that same July 15, 2022, the Supreme Court in line its administrative protocol served the CTC of the Judgment and Enrolment Order on INEC.
Again, Chief Njoku wrote to INEC and attached all the necessary documents and requested for recognition from the Commission.
Recall that INEC recognized Chief Edozie Njoku’s deputy, Chief Jude Okeke, as the Acting National Chairman of INEC, sequel to Justice Musa Ubale’s Judgment of June 30, 2021 in Suit No: JDU/022/2021. The basis for INEC recognizing Jude Okeke was the Owerri Convention.
From July 15, 2022 till date, INEC has not OFFICIALLY responded to any of the letters written to them seeking to recognize Chief Edozie Njoku based on the amended Judgment.
By July 19, 2022, the Police invited Chief Edozie Njoku via a letter with Reference No. CR.3000/X/FHQ/ABJ/T.2/VOL260/11 to the FCID signed by DCP Garba Ahmed (Deputy Commissioner of Police, Admin).
At the FCID, Chief Njoku went tendered all the documents he got from the Supreme Court. Afterwards, he was granted bail on self-recognition.
The Police commenced their investigation and had to write to the Supreme Court to ascertain the authenticity of the documents which he tendered before them.
On August 1, 2022, while the Honorable Justices of the Supreme Court were on vacation, the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court (Hajo Sarki Bello) took it upon herself to reply the Police. She wrote to the office of the Inspector General of Police and the Chairman of INEC denying all the CTCs of the Judgment and Enrolment Order which which were duly issued by the Supreme Court. This was how his ordeal began. Please find attached the letter of the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court.
To advance the plot, on September 1, 2022, Dr. Festus Akande, the Director of Media and Information of the Supreme Court toed the same destructive path of the Chief Registrar by releasing a publication to the public, inciting the general public to disregard all the documents in our possession.
These two letters from Principal Officers of the Supreme Court, to the Police and INEC, were plots designed to falsely fortify the petition of Chief Victor Oye against Chief Edozie Njoku, which he wrote to the Office of the Inspector General of Police alleging that Njoku forged the CTCs of the amended Judgment and the Enrolment Order to mislead the public.
Amidst this confusion, on October 12, 2022, Chief Njoku wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of the Nigeria and copied all the Honorable Justices in the panel in Suit No: SC/CV/687/2021. Interestingly, Hon. Justice Ukaego Mary Peter – Odili replied him directly on November 7, 2022 and clarified that she amended the Judgment.
Despite Hon Justice Odili’s amended Judgment, in November, 2022, the Police filed criminal charges against Njoku in (Charge No: CR/12/2022) at the FCT Court 40 Bwari presided over by Justice Mohammed Madugu. A Bench Warrant of arrest was slammed on Njoku. However, it was vacated and he was sent to Suleja prison for two days. Afterwards, he was also granted bail on self-recognition.
On January 19, 2023, the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court on behalf of the Chief Justice of Nigeria wrote a letter to Chief Edozie Njoku, in which the Court addressed him as the National Chairman of APGA and asked him to bring forth before the Court a motion, in line with Order 8 Rule 16 to regularize the amendment of Justice Mary Odili.
Our lawyers have complied with the request of the Supreme Court. We are simply waiting for date from the Court to move our motion.
Nonetheless, Court 40 Bwari will rise again on February 14, 2023. However, on January 6, 2023, the CSP Rimamsonte, the prosecutor amended the charges. In the amendment, he put Justice Odili as witness and has also included her secretary in his charges.
In the cause of the amendment, Rimamsonte attached the secret letter of the Chief Registrar wrote to the Police and INEC as prime exhibit. This letter of August 1, 2022 runs contrary and, is diametrically opposite to the true position of things as stated in the January 19, 2023 letter from the Supreme Court.
Clearly, to settle the confusion which the Auguts 1, 2022 letter of the Chief Registrar has created, the Supreme Court must COMMUINCATE OFFICIALLY to the Inspector General of Police and the Chairman of INEC RETRACTING Bello’s letter. This will rest the matter in Suit No: SC/CV/687/2021 permanently.