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Tag: Bassey Etim

  • A’Ibom: Group urges Senate to swear in elected candidate

    A’Ibom: Group urges Senate to swear in elected candidate

    A civil society organization, Human Rights and Civil Society Alliance, has urged the Senate to obey court judgment and swear in Mr Bassey Etim as senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East.

    The Chairman of the group, Mr Gabriel Ojo, made the call at a news conference on Sunday in Abuja.

    Ojo said that allowing Mr Bassey Akpan to remain in the Senate, representing Akwa Ibom North-East in spite of existing court verdict removing him, called for concern.

    According to him, the senate is setting a bad precedence with its action on the issue.

    He, however, warned that the group would not watch and allow such flagrant disobedience of the law to continue.

    ”The Senate leadership has refused to obey the judgment of the court that it should inaugurate Bassey Etim.

    “The leadership is doing this under the guise that the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, is waiting for legal advice from lawyers on what to do with the positive order of the court.

    “We are appalled by the fact that the senate leadership is not only disobeying the court order but encouraging double standard in the Red Chamber.

    “In order to discourage this show of brazen insult on the nation’s highest office of people’s representation, we call on the senate leadership to obey the court order and swear in Senator-elect, Bassey Etim,’’ he said.

    On a recent communiqué issued by Coalition of Concerned Lawyers (CCL) criticising the senate for previously obeying court orders over swearing-in of senators from Kogi-East Senatorial District, Ojo said it was misleading.

    He said that CCL’s support of Bassey Akpan was aimed at creating confusion in the minds of Nigerians by alluding to the fact that the senate leadership acted then in error.

    He stated that the action of the senate in the Kogi case was a clear positive precedence, but wondered why it refused to honour similar court order in the case of Etim.

    On the excuse that Bassey Akpan had appealed the Federal High Court order, Ojo said “you do not need to be a lawyer to know that an appeal does not constitute a stay of execution.

    “ The 90-day ultimatum given by the court for Akpan to refund the salary and allowances he had collected as senator before the judgment has passed and he has not complied.

    “Instead, he has gone to several courts looking for order to stop execution which he has been denied.’’

    It will be recalled that a Federal High Court sitting in Uyo on Feb. 27, 2017, removed Sen. Bassey Akpan as senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East and replaced him with Sen. Bassey Etim.

    The high court, in the judgment on a pre-election dispute between Akpan and Etim, both of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), asked Akpan to also refund within 90 days, all salaries and allowances collected.

    Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has retrieved Akpan’s Certificate of Return and issued a fresh one to Etim based on the court order.

    But, the Senate has failed to swear in Etim, saying it was seeking legal advice on whether or not to swear him in.

    The Leader of the Senate, Sen. Ahmed Lawan, had promised that the upper chamber would obey the rule of law.

  • Lawyers group decries Senate’s failure to swear-in senator elect

    Lawyers group decries Senate’s failure to swear-in senator elect

    • Threatens to drag Saraki to court for contempt

    Human Right Lawyers and civil society groups on Monday asked Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, to respect court order directing him to swear-in senator-elect, Bassey Etim, in the interest of rule of law.

    The group threatened to drag Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, to court for allegedly refusing to inaugurate Etim despite a court order for him to do so.

    The Human right lawyers who spoke in Abuja at a press briefing described as an unacceptable alleged refusal of Saraki to swear-in Etim even with a duly issued certificate of return for Akwa Ibom North East Senatorial District.

    Coordinator of Human Right Lawyers, Frank Tietie told reporters that Saraki was trampling on rule of law for allegedly refusing to swear-in Etim.

    He recalled that on 27th, February 2017, the Federal High Court, Uyo Division in a well-considered judgement ordered among others that a certificate of return be issued to Senator-elect Bassey Etim by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    He said that the same court nullified the certificate of return issued to Senator Bassey Albert.

    Tietie noted that INEC in obedience to the court order issued Basset Etim a fresh certificate of return on March 6th, 2017.

    He said that the Senate President has however delayed the swearing-in of Senator-elect Bassey Etim without any justifiable reason or excuse under the law.

    He said that on 31st March 2017, the Federal High Court in Uyo dismissed the application for stay of execution filed by Bassey Akpan to stop swearing-in Senator-elect Bassey Etim as the Senator representing Akwa Ibom North East.

    He said: “It has come to our knowledge that series of letters have been written and advice given to the Senate President to swear-in senator-elect Bassey Etim but the Senate President has refused to do the needful.

    “It is worthy to mention that all relevant documents have been put before the Senate President. These include enrolled court order from Federal High Court, Uyo order for striking out of the application for stay of execution, order for the refusal of the injunction by the Federal High Court Judge in Abuja, Certificate of return from INEC.”

    Tietie noted that it is obvious that precedent has been set in the swearing-in of senators who have won pre-election matters and issued with a certificate of return.

    He said, “Just to mention but a few is the case of Kogi East in a case between Senator Isaac Alfa vs Senator Atai Aidoko. In this situation, stay of execution was pending in court and appeals were also pending in both the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. We believe that their swearing-in was right because appeal does not in law operate as the order for stay of execution.”

    Tietie insisted that in view of the precedent already set by the Senate similar to the instant case of Etim, Senate ought to be consistent and swear-in Senator-elect Etim immediately.

    He said that they have been duly informed that the delay to swear-in Etim is predicated upon giving Senator Akpan opportunity to procure an order of injunction to restrain the swearing-in Etim.

    According to him, “since Albert Akpan has failed to produce injunctive order to restrain the swearing-in of Senator-elect Etim, we hereby call on the Senate President to swear-in Senator-elect Etim forthwith in accordance with the rule of law for the sustenance of our nascent democracy.”

  • Court strikes out stay of execution filed by Sen. Akpan

    The Federal High Court, Uyo, on Friday struck out the application for stay of execution filed by Sen. Bassey Akpan, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) representing Akwa Ibom North..

    Akpan filed the suit for the court to stay execution of its Feb. 27 judgment, which was in favour of Mr Bassey Etim, also of the PDP.

    The judge, Justice Fatun Riman, said that since there was an appeal on his judgment of Feb. 27, his court has no jurisdiction to entertain the same matter.

    The judge, therefore, struck out the case and awarded N50, 000 cost in favour of the plaintiff, Mr Bassey Etim, the defendant.

    The court in the Feb.27, judgment had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC) to immediately issue certificate of return to Etim.

    The court faulted the primary that produced Akpan as the flag bearer of the PDP.

    Speaking to newsmen after the judgment, counsel to the defendant, Mr Taiwo Abe, described the judgment as excellent.

    He said that the application was brought by the appellant, PDP and Akpan.

    “The record shows that the appellant had already filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal, Calabar.

    “His Lordship said that only the Court of Appeal can entertain stay of execution, since the case had been transmitted from the Federal High Court, Uyo, to Court of Appeal, Calabar, since March 10, 2017.’’

    “I made the application that the court should strike out the case and award me a cost, the judge today has agreed with me and even granted cost of N50, 000.’’
    Also speaking, counsel to Sen. Akpan, Mr Godswill Umoh, said that he was satisfied with the judgment.

    “Actually that is the rule of practice, since we have filed an appeal before the Court of Appeal; the lower court cannot adjudicate on the same matter.

    “Earnestly, the rule of practice is we withdraw the case, which I did.”

  • Court nullifies Senator’s election in Akwa Ibom

    The Federal High Court sitting in Uyo on Monday nullified the election of Senator Bassey Akpan representing Akwa Ibom North East Senatorial District in the upper chamber of the National Assembly.

    The court ruled that Akpan was not duly elected in the primary election conducted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on December 7, 2014.

    The judge, Justice Fatun Riman, therefore, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Akpan and awarded N200, 000 costs in favour of the plaintiff, Mr. Bassey Etim.

    The judge also directed INEC to issue a fresh certificate of return to Etim of the PDP who was the authentic winner of the primary election.

    Riman also ordered that Akpan should refund all salaries and allowances earned during his stay in the Senate to the Federal Government.

    The defence counsel, Mr. Offiong Offiong (SAN) told journalists after the judgment that he would brief his client before knowing the next action to take on the matter.

    Offiong said: “I cannot advise my client through the media, I will advise him as a professional certainly on the matter when I meet him.”

    The lawyer to the plaintiff, Mr. Taiwo Abe, described the judgment as “victory for democracy.”

    “I am happy with the judgment, it is victory for democracy, and I can assure you no court of law will fault this judgment.

    My client has proved his case and I have no doubt even if they appeal at the Supreme Court my client will still win,” Abe said.

    NAN