The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Enugu State has taken upon itself a battle to get the jailed candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in a state assembly rerun election released. The APC alleges that the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the Southeast state used its influence to get the LP candidate jailed to pave the way for its (PDP) candidate in the rerun; a charge the ruling party denies. DAMIAN DURUIHEOMA reports
The Enugu State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has embarked on a campaign to free the Labour Party (LP) House of Assembly candidate for Enugu South Urban State constituency, Bright Ngene, from jail.
The LP candidate defeated his closest rival and PDP candidate, Sam Ngene during the 2023 general election. He scored over 5200 votes, while the PDP counterpart secured 2000 votes. He was subsequently sworn in as an Enugu State House of Assembly member.
However, the PDP candidate went to the tribunal praying the court to declare that the election was inconclusive. Consequently, the Appeal tribunal ordered a rerun in eight polling units, with the rerun failing to occur on two occasions over reports of manipulation and violence.
However, ahead of a yet-to-be-announced date for the rerun, a matter which involved the LP candidate and his Akwuke community seven years ago was resurrected at the Enugu Magistrate Court with the magistrate convicting and pronouncing a seven-year jail term against the LP candidate amidst protests.
The matter was an alleged diversion of N15 million meant for the Akwuke Community in Enugu South Local Government Area into Ngene’s Law firm’s bank account and subsequent disbursement of N11 million from the funds to a contractor who constructed the community’s road.
But, addressing reporters at the Enugu Correctional Facility, where Ngene was being detained, the APC chairman, Chief Ugochukwu Agballah, condemned what he called unjust imprisonment of the LP candidate, describing it as a miscarriage of justice.
Chief Agballah accused the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Enugu of masterminding the arrest and jail sentence of the lawmaker to pave the way for its candidate to emerge victorious in the rerun election.
He vowed that the APC would challenge the conviction of the LP candidate and would resist any attempt by the PDP to force the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to hold another rerun in Enugu South Urban constituency without the LP candidate being present, stressing that it would amount to robbing him of the people’s mandate.
Agballah said: “We’re here in respect of Bright Ngene, the presumed winner of the 2023 House of Assembly election for Enugu South Urban 1 State Constituency. Ngene was the LP candidate who won the election. But, today, he’s serving a seven-year jail term because he is trying to recover his mandate, which was truncated by a tribunal judgment which declared his election inconclusive.
“We’re here in solidarity with him because injustice to one is injustice to all. We’re here on the mandate of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji, who is the leader of our party in Enugu State. Chief Nnaji has asked me to intervene. I have met with Ngene to find out the true position of things.
“We all know what is happening in Enugu State. There’s a plan by the ruling PDP to stop the LP candidate from getting back the mandate given to him by the people of Enugu South Urban State Constituency.
“He was the leading candidate by over 4000 votes in an election that the Court of Appeal ordered a rerun in only eight polling units. He was leading with 5200 votes while his closest rival of the PDP had about 2000 votes. The number of eligible voters in the constituencies where the rerun is to take place is 4000.
“But the PDP government in Enugu State led by Governor Peter Mbah is using every power at their disposal to crush this man and to silence him and forcibly take away his mandate. We’re here in solidarity with him. I’m not just here as the chairman of the APC in Enugu State. I’m here as a major stakeholder in the Enugu project because injustice to one is injustice to all.
“I’m here with the backing of the minister, Chief Uche Nnaji, who is solidly behind the restoration of the mandate given freely to Bright Ngene by the people of Enugu State Urban State Constituency. We will do everything within our power to ensure that Ngene is free. The controversial judgment by Magistrate D. D. Onwu is not acceptable to us.
“We will table what the magistrate has done before the National Judicial Council (NJC). We’re going to send our lawyers to go to the court to fight for his bail. We heard from his lawyer that the magistrate gave his judgment without his legal address; as it was not accepted.
“This is against the precedence of law in the country. It’s against the rules of the High Court. It’s against the rules of natural justice. We will do everything to ensure justice is done in this matter and that whoever, no matter how highly placed, has his hands in this miscarriage of justice, will be brought to justice because nobody is above the law, including judicial officers and INEC officials.
“We’re going to take this matter to President Bola Tinubu because he swore an oath to protect the rights of every Nigerian, irrespective of political party. We’re presenting this first to the zonal leadership of our party. We can’t allow Abacha to rise again in Enugu State. What is going on now is even worse than what took place under the Chimaraoke Nnamani administration.
“During the Nnamani’s era, nobody who won an election was jailed for demanding the restoration of his mandate. We’re going to make a report to the national chairman of INEC regarding this because three times, INEC had called out the people of Enugu South Urban for an election they had no intention to conduct.
“We will not accept that the election should hold behind Ngene because you cannot barb a man in his absence.”
At a press conference, the Enugu PDP denied being responsible for the travails of the LP candidate. Its chairman, Augustine Nnamani insisted that the allegations of a political witch hunt by the Enugu State Government in the trial and sentencing of Bright Ngene was a total falsehood.
The PDP explained that Ngene’s investigation, trial, and conviction were at the instance of his people for the theft of N15.7m belonging to their community and wondered how it could have related to the 2023 House of Assembly contest.
He said: “For the avoidance of doubt, and as the case file number (MEN/ 225C/2017) indicates, this is a matter of conspiracy and stealing filed in the Enugu South Magisterial District of the Enugu State Magistrate Court against the first defendant, Bright Ngene, and two others way back in 2017.
“Let it also be known that the Akwuke/Akwuke Uwani communities complained to the police. After a painstaking investigation, the defendants, including Bright Ngene, were indicted and arraigned before A. O. Eze on a two-count charge of conspiracy and stealing on August 21, 2017. The defendants pleaded not guilty to both counts and were granted bail.
“The prosecution opened their case on the next adjourned date, September 11, 2017, calling witnesses before closing their case. Rather than marshal their defence, the defendants initially made a no-case submission. However, the court dismissed it and ordered them to commence their defence.
“Next, Bright Ngene wrote to the Chief Judge of Enugu State seeking the transfer of the matter from A. O. Eze to another court to start the trial afresh; a request the Chief Judge refused for lacking in merit.
“Ngene did not relent, and the matter was later reassigned to E. D. Onwu, and the matter started afresh. The prosecution called their witnesses, who testified afresh and were thoroughly cross-examined by the defence. Ngene (the first defendant) testified in person. He also called witnesses, who testified on his behalf before closing his case.”
The party, therefore, underscored the fact that not only was the LP House of Assembly candidate charged at the instance of his people many years predating the 2023 election but also that the delays in the trial were “mostly at the instance of Bight Ngene who kept applying to the Chief Judge for reassignment of the case and filing actions in the superior courts to stall the trial”.
