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The Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, yesterday, reserved judgment in a case filed by Mrs. Juliet Ibekaku-Nwagwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) against Senator Ike Ekweremadu.
Ibekaku-Nwagwu is challenging the declaration of Ekweremadu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the Feb. 23 Senatorial election for Enugu West.
The National and State House of Assembly Elections Petitions Tribunal in Enugu had in its judgment on September 9 affirmed Ekweremadu as duly elected.
At the resumed hearing, counsel to the appellants, Mr Henry Bello, said the notice of appeal contained 17 grounds. He said the appellants also formulated eight issues for determination in the appeal.
He said the crux of the appeal was based on non-compliance to the Electoral Act by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in declaring the first respondent as winner of the poll.
On a preliminary objection brought by Anthony Ani, counsel to the second respondent, the PDP, Bello urged the court to strike it out for being academic and lacking in merit.
“We adopt our replies to the preliminary objection and the three briefs of the appellants in argument of this appeal and urge the court to allow the appeal set aside the judgment of the tribunal,” Bello said.
Ani had earlier drew the attention of the court to a House of Representatives appeal which he said was reserved for judgement.
He said the case with appeal number CA/E/EAPP/ 15/2019, which affected three out of five local government areas involved in the instant case had similar issues.
Ani said that they filed a preliminary objection on the current case which they incorporated at page three of their brief.
