Bello asks court to join him as defendant in double registration suit

Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, on Friday, prayed the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to join him as co-defendant to the suit filed Social Democratic Party (SDP), who is seeking his disqualification for an alleged double registration as a voter.

SDP and its governorship candidate, Natasha Akpoti, had sued the All Progressives Party (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the first and second respondents alleging double registration.

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When the matter came up Friday at a Federal High Court in Abuja, Bello’s lawyer, Paul Enaholo, said the governor wanted to be joined in the suit.

The governor argued that since the reliefs sought by Akpoti were against his nomination, qualification and candidacy, he urged the court to join him as 3rd defendant in the suit prior to the hearing of the originating processes.

Bello also sought an order of the court directing the plaintiff and the original defendants to serve him all the processes filed by them in the suit in the interest of justice.

He said the application was filed on Friday because he got wind of the suit the previous day.

Counsel to Akpoti, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), who acknowledged receipt of the motion, argued that the motion was to stop court’s proceeding on the matter.

He urged Justice Inyang Ekwo not to grant the request since the election was Saturday.

On his part, Counsel to the APC, Abdulwahab Mohammed, said he would need more time to study the motion.

However, Counsel to INEC, Alhassan Umar (SAN), said he had no objection to the motion.

Justice Ekwo granted the prayers and urged all parties to reflect in their processes the third defendant’s prayers and respond appropriately.

He said though the election would be today, that would not stop the court from doing its business.

The judge gave the plaintiff two days to amend their processes to accommodate Governor Yahaya Bello as a defendant, and also granted all the defendants, including Bello, two days to reply upon being served by the plaintiff.

The judge held that all preliminary objections in the suit would be taken in the adjourned date and any party absent on the day would be deemed to have adopted them.

 Justice Ekwo, who adjourned the matter till November 21, said the decision was to afford Governor Bello, who sought to be joined in the matter, a fair hearing.

Akpoti, in an originating summons filed before the court by her counsel, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), maintained that Bello’s alleged act of double registration as a voter violated Section 24(e) of the Electoral Act.

She further asked the court to, apart from disqualification, bar Bello, the governorship candidate of the APC in the poll, from holding public office for 10 years.

Akpoti, who was disqualified by INEC from the contest which has been lifted by the court, urged the court to compel INEC to carry out thorough investigation of the act of double registration and to immediately prosecute him (Bello) upon the expiration of his first tenure of office as governor of Kogi State in January 2020”.

The plaintiff said INEC had severally threatened to prosecute Bello for the said act of double registration but failed to take any discernible action in stopping him from contesting the governorship election.

“The transfer was carried out and his Permanent Voters Card was issued to him on February 26, 2018, while his second registration at the Government House, Lokoja was and is still subsisting,” she stated.

She therefore sought among other prayers, a declaration by the court that Bello “has by virtue of his double registration as a voter violated the provisions of Section 24(e) of the Electoral Act”.