Inec fights back against Okorocha's suit demanding he be given a certificate of return

NIGERIA'S Independent National Electoral Commission (Inec) has urged the federal high court in Abuja to dismiss the suit filed by the Imo State governor Rochas Okorocha demanding that he be given a certificate of return immediately.

Following the February 29 National Assembly elections, Governor Okorocha was declared the winner of the Imo West Senatorial District, with 97,762 votes, beating his closest rival Jones Onyereri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who got 68,117 votes. However, Inec's returning officer Professor Francis Ibeawuchi, has since revealed that he announced the results under duress as he was abducted and held until he pronounced the governor the winner.

As a result, Inec dropped Governor Okorocha's name from the list of senators duly elected which it published after the polls. On Thursday March 14, the senators-elect received their certificates of return from Inec but Governor Okorocha will now have to wait for a re-run in certain parts of his constituency as the elections have been declared inconclusive.

So far, however, Inec has not conducted any supplementary elections and there is no sign that the matter will be resolved before the new government takes office on May 29. Exasperated will the delay, Governor Okorocha went to court asking that Inec declare him the senator-elect of Imo West Senatorial District.

However, Inec's counsel Wendy Kuku, urged the court to dismiss the suit for being incompetent, pointing out that the court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the matter. She questioned the jurisdiction of the court on the grounds that being a post-election matter, it was only the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal that had jurisdiction to hear it.

Ms Kuku submitted that the non-issuance of the certificate of return, which bordered on the executive and administrative act of Inec being challenged in the suit was election-related. She argued that the cause of action, having arisen out of an election that had been conducted, the suit was not a matter within the jurisdiction of the court but that of the tribunal.

In his own submission, counsel to Governor Okorocha, Kehinde Ogunwumiju argued that the issue of duress was the only defence raised by the defendants before the court and that Inec did not say anything about it. He submitted that the word duress was a state of mind of a person and that only a person upon whom duress was exerted could feel it.

Mr Ogunwumiju noted that the court would find that there was no issue of violence, threat or duress, urging the court to grant the reliefs sought by his client. Judge, Okon Abang, adjourned the matter until May 20 for continuation of hearing.