Supreme Court Sets Up A Seven Man Panel To Hear Appeals On Rivers Apc’s Dispute

Uche EmmanuelApril 1, 2019

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A seven-man panel of the Supreme Court has scheduled hearing for Thursday (April 4) in four appeals relating to the lingering intra-party dispute among members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State.

The four appeals, Wazobia Infos learnt, are in relation to the some interlocutory decisions of the lower courts on the dispute that has polarised the party and affected the outcome of the primaries it conducted preparatory to the 2019 general elections.

The Justice Ibrahim Muhammad-led seven-man panel adjourned to April 4 after addressing some preliminary issues on the appeals on Monday.

The first of the appeals, marked: SC/ 1972019 was filed by Magnus Abe and some others, with APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) listed among the respondents.

The court granted the motion by the APC, represented by Jibrin Okutepa (SAN) for permission to merge the different respondents’ briefs, earlier filed by the 2nd to the 35th respondents, into a single brief.

It rejected a similar motion filed by the appellants’ lawyer, Henry Bello for leave (permission) to amend the notice of appeal.

The court noted that the motion was defective because Bello failed to attach the old notice of appeal to the motion, as required. It noted that the lawyer only attached his proposed amended notice of appeal.

It adjourned to April 4 for hearing, before which the appellants are to, within 48 hours, filed their reply to the respondents’ brief of argument.

The other appeals are: SC 295/ 20019, filed by APC, with PDP listed among respondents; SC266, filed by APC, with Magnus Abe and others as respondents and SC/267/2019 filed by Tonye Patrick Cole, with Magnus Abe and 48 others as respondents.

The three appeals were adjourned to April 4 to allow the formal service of hearing notices and all other processes on INEC, which was not represented on Monday.

Other members of the seven-man panel of the Supreme Court are: Justices Olukayode Ariwoola, Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, Amiru Sanusi, Paul Galinje, Amina Augie, and Uwani Musa Abba Aji.