With the Anambra Central senatorial rerun over, Okonkwo withdraws suit that sought to stop it

Apparently convinced that his legal effort was an exercise in futility after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conducted the Anambra Central senatorial rerun election last Saturday, Senator Annie Clement Okonkwo on Tuesday told the Court of Appeal in Abuja that he was no longer interested in two motions he filed against the conduct of the election.

Consequently, Justice Abubakar Datti Yahaya of the Court of Appeal, dismissed the motions and rested the case.

Okonkwo had in the two motions on notice filed through his counsel, Solomon Umoh (SAN), prayed the court to stop INEC from conducting last Saturday’s re-run election for the Anambra Central senatorial district of Anambra State.

However, when the case came up on Tuesday, the senator told the court that he was no longer interested in the suit that had INEC and six others as defendants.

His counsel, Abel Ozioko, told the three-member panel of the Court of Appeal Justices that Okonkwo had directed him to cease from pursuing justice in the matter since the election he sought to stop had been conducted by INEC.

One of the defendants’ counsel, Patrick Ikwueto (SAN) and that of INEC, Alhassan Umar, got angry with Okonkwo’s decision to withdraw the motion and demanded that the court impose a cost on the appellant for allegedly approaching the court with frivolous motions to scuttle the re-run election.

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However, after listening to all the submissions, Justice Yahaya dismissed the motions without cost against Okonkwo.

The election in question was conducted last Saturday and Chief Victor Umeh, the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate and former national chairman emerged winner.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), due to a Court of Appeal order, did not participate in the election.

 

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