The African Centre for Justice and Human Rights (ACJHR) has raised the alarm over alleged messages being shared on pro-Imo government and APC WhatsApp groups aimed at allegedly blackmailing, intimidating and tarnishing the image of the three different panels hearing the National and State Assembly Election Petitions in Imo State by loyalists and agents of Imo State government led by Governor Hope Uzodinma.
The group said the first Panel of Justices includes Hon. Justice Y. Halilu – Chairman; Hon. Justice M.G. Abubakar, and Hon. Justice A. O. Familoni.
The second panel has Hon. Justice Salisu Umar – Chairman; Hon. Justice Temitopo Adedipe, and Hon. Justice Musa Usamn, while the third panel includes Hon. Justice A. O. Akpovi, Hon. Justice Usman A. S. Kudu and Hon. Justice Ibrahim Mohammed.
The group, in a statement by its Head of Public Interest Litigation Monitoring Unit, Ade Balogun, said the alleged perpetrators were desperate to re-enact what he called the ‘Supreme Court magic’ of declaring people who came last as winners election.
The group called on members of Imo Election Petitions Tribunal to ignore the antics of the people whose desperation to hang on to power has allegedly tarnished the Supreme Court’s name when they misled the apex Court with fake results of governorship election, which saw a man coming from fourth to first position.
They also called on the judges of the three panels sitting on Imo election matters to be courageous in the face of intimidation to do the right thing as Nigerians will be watching to see how all these public domain known facts of alleged biggest electoral magic and fraud were resolved.
ACJHR expressed confidence in the capacity of Justice Akpovi and other chairmen of the different panels and their members to courageously resolve all the issues in the interest of the judiciary credibility and rule of law
The statement read, “They are panicking because they know that 80 per cent of the APC victory in Imo was carried out with results that were announced with votes outrageously above a accreditation like Owerri Municipal, Okigwe, Orlu, Orsu, Oru East, Mbaise, both in the State Assembly and federal constituency elections where figures where announced with votes above accredited figures.
“The case of Owerri municipal is shameful where not up to 14,000 were accredited but All Progressives Congress, APC was declared winner with over 70,000 votes, In Okigwe federal constituency, APC snatched LP victory by using outrageously inflated figures from Okigwe that is above accredited figures, same in Orsu, Orlu, Oguta and Ohaji federal constituency where figures above BVAS accredited figures were used.
“The case of Ideato Federal Constituency is another interesting one where APC won only one polling unit out of 346 polling unitss, lost 345 and came a distant 3rd and still battling to be declared winner from 3rd to first position even with only one polling unit out of 346 while trying to use a pre-election issue of venue of primary which have been decided by three different courts and statute bared to attempt to mislead the court to repeat another Supreme Court governorship magic of last coming to first.
“Even in Isu and Ideato South LGAs, where APC lost the state assembly elections, they want to use figures outside BVAS’ original accreditation to attempt to steal the mandate. The attempt by APC and pro-Uzodimma men to smear the name of judges which Uzodinma must have approved is an attempt to undermine the court and tarnish the names of judges who have not done anything wrong except on insisting to be left alone to do their work and review the clear evidences before them. Go to even Ideato North LGA state constituency, you will see how PDP candidate who the people voted for and the result uploaded was denied victory and apc snatched the mandate and still battling to mislead the court to affirm their victory which has votes above accreditation.
“The case of Ikeduru/Mbaitolu federal constituency is shocking as the rerun election was marred with disruption and snatching of materials with attempt to use fake accreditation to sustain the stealing of the mandate of the LP candidate.
“Smearing or attacking the judges at the tribunal will not change these hard facts across Imo, which the judges as men of honour must have seen.”