Wants IG to investigate alleged police complicity

There was a new twist last week in the matter of the sack of Senator Ifeanyi Uba as Senator representing Anambra South Senatorial District at the National Assembly, following a complaint to the Chief Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Justice Ishaq Bello.

Justice Bello Kawu of an Abuja High Court in Kubwa District had on January 17 affirmed his earlier order sacking Ifeanyi Ubah as the senator representing Anambra South in the National Assembly.

Justice Kawu while ruling on an application by Ubah seeking to set aside the order of his sack as Senator representing Anambra South Senatorial District dismissed the application for lacking merit.

Ubah, candidate of the Young Peoples Party (YPP) was declared winner of the February 23 senatorial election in Anambra South Senatorial District by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) having won majority of the votes cast at the election.

But the court in a judgment delivered on April 11, 2019, had sacked Ubah for allegedly submitting a forged National Examination Council certificate to aide his qualification for the February 23, 2019 senatorial election.

The court in addition had ordered INEC to withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to Ubah as winner of the Anambra South Senatorial District election and a fresh one be issued to Dr. Obinna Uzoh of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who came second at the poll.

Ubah however had since approached the Court of Appeal to set aside the order of Justice Kawu.

Hearing in the appeal Thisday learnt will resume March 9, 2020 at the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal.

But in a letter written by Justice Bello Kawu to the CJ of the FCT High Court, Ifeanyi Ubah and the police were accused of intimidating a Registrar of the Abuja High Court in Kubwa.

In the letter titled: Investigation Activities Case of Conspiracy, Perjury, Fraud and Criminal Misrepresentation, False Pretence and Criminal Defamation Suit No CV/3044/18, Anani Anacletus Chuka vs Uba Patrick and 2 others, dated March 5 and addressed to the CJ, which was sighted by THISDAY, the judge complained of harassment and intimidation of a Registrar in his court.

According to him, the problem started when the police came to his court requesting for a certified copy of the processes filed in the said suit.

He added that the request which was signed by one Augustine A. Sanomi, Commissioner of Police, Legal/ Prosecution section FHQ, Abuja, also asked for a certified copy of the proceedings, judgment and all others made in the suit.

"When my Registrar minuted the letter I directed him to give them all what they requested.
"Yesterday being March 4, 2020, another policeman came from the Chief Registrar's office asking my Registrar to come to the Chief Registrar's office with the case file.

After the Chief Registrar called the Registrar he followed the police officer to the Chief Registrar's office where the Chief Registrar directed that the Senator, his police orderly and his lawyer, together with my Registrar go outside the Court premises and photocopy the file", he said in the letter to the CJ.

Justice Kawu however said that while going for the photo copy they insulted and rained curses on his Registrar and told him all sort of things which he claimed the Registrar sent to him via text message, adding that the Registrar was not only made to write statement and was threatened with arrest and detention until the Chief Registrar intervened.

"My Lord this is a case that did not involve my Registrar, and he is now under a very serious threat from those people.

"It is a matter that was assigned to me by the Hon. the Chief Judge. I presided over it from the beginning to the finish. In every matter there has to be a winner and a loser. The loser should not resort to self help, intimidating the staff, reporting them to police and what have you.

"If they are not satisfied they should go to Court of Appeal or National Judicial Council where they think the Judge acted wrongly.

"Most importantly my Lord, the matter is presently before the Court of Appeal. My Lord, for the police to get into this matter, I think there is a sinister motive which the attention of Inspector General of Police needs to be drawn.

"It is not within their power and they really know this.

"It is something intended to ridicule the Judiciary and intimidate the Judicial officer", he added.
Axact

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