Ikpeazu: Women, youths protest against A’ Court verdict

Abia women and youths in their thousands, on Monday, joined in the protest going on in Aba against the judgement of the Appeal Court sitting in Aba that sacked Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State as the Ukwa Na Ngwa Council of Elders pledge to fight what they called injustice.

Speaking on behalf of the women, Mrs. Uwaoma Olewengwa, Lady Chinedu Brown and Lady Elizabeth Esochaghi expressed their dissatisfaction with the judgement of the Appeal Court in Owerri, appealing to the Supreme Court to quash the judgement.

Also addressing newsmen after their meeting in Osisioma country home of an Ukwa/Ngwa elder statesman, Elder Emmanuel Adaelu, the Ukwa Na Ngwa Council of Elders and traditional rulers in the area vowed to challenge the injustice.

Their spokesman, Adaelu, said the group was “distressed, embarrased, highly annoyed and felt that the judgement was a total deprivation” of their fundamental human rights, especially when they looked at the reason that the Court of Appeal gave for the sack of their son as the state governor and wondered why the election in three key local government areas of the state should be cancelled, especially the Obingwa Local Government Area whence Ikpeazu came.

“To us, there is a rape of justice, it is unfair and we do not know that the judges will consider the truth of the matter and give a kangaroo verdict. Cancelling the votes in Obingwa LGA means Gov. Ikpeazu did not even vote for himself. We feel the stress of this disenfranchisement”, he said, stating that “in unequivocal terms, we condenm the decision”.

They expressed their optimism that the Supreme Court would reverse the judgement, which they described as the handiwork of some corrupt judges, pledging that the country would not allow the international community to hear that.

Lending his voice, a lawyer, Mr. Chibuike Nwokeukwu, said the judgement came to them as a surprise, stating that the Appeal Court judges lost sight of a higher court, the Supreme Court, disclosing that the legal team of Ikpeazu had successfully filed their case at the Supreme Court.

He said the Appeal Court did not direct that Dr. Alex Otti should be sworn in as Ikpeazu was still the governor, while a stay-of-execution had also been filed stating that “no one will be sworn in until the case is determined”.

He said, “Anybody with ambition to be the governor will have to wait till the next four years”.

The former President of the Senate, Adolph Nwabara said they would fight for justice, expressing his belief that the National Judicial Council (NJC) would come in and look at the judgement with a view to sanction corrupt judges.

He described it as a “planned judgement”, stating that any reason of over-voting is not a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) affair and could be by any party’s, asking “why punish Ikpeazu. Let Buhari, who believes in justice come and look at it and ensure that justice prevails”, he said.