Courtroom Full As Enugu Tribunal Hears Edeoga’s Suit Against Mbah

Lawyers, party faithful, reporters and accolytes of defendants and accused are finding it difficult accessing the venue of the Enugu State Election Petition Tribunal following the overcrowding of the venue.

Friday’s upsurge is a result of the suit filed by Labour Party’s gubernatorial candidate in the state, Barr Chijioke Edeoga, challenging the declaration of Barr Peter Mbah of the Peoples Democratic Party as the winner of March 18, 2023 election.

THE WHISTLER reports that the legal teams of both Edeoga and Mbah, led by Chief Ademoyega Awomolo (SAN), and Dr Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), were on ground to entertian the inaugural hearing of the petition.

Following the upsurge, the court clerk informed the gathering that ‘some lawyers who are parties to the matters scheduled for hearing do not have seats’. He therefore appealed to non-lawyers to vacate their seats for the concerned lawyers.

With his plea unheeded, the chairman of the tribunal later appealed to political parties to have representatives in the court, while others should leave the room.

The state LP chairman, Barr Cosmas Agbo, was seen asking members of his party to leave the room to decongest the premises. With the court filled to the brim, the observers were forced to cluster by the outside windows.

A member of LP, from Ezeagu LGA, told our reporter that, “This matter will test our judiciary. What happened in Enugu State during the election is unheard of anywhere.”

A member of the PDP, Osmond Eze, said, “Let us see how it pans out. The certificate forgery saga has been on, and the judiciary will have the final say.”

Mbah had, through his lawyer, Emeka Ozoani, SAN, approached the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja with an exparte motion against the NYSC.

He sought, among others, to restrain NYSC, in the interim, from issuing or continuing to issue the disclaimer on the governor-elect’s discharge certificate.

The second prayer sought an order of interim injunction restraining NYSC, “tribunal or any other person, natural or legal, in receipt or knowledge of the aforesaid disclaimer issued to published by NYSC” from according “any probative evidential value on it pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.”