By Daniel Edu
Chaos erupted at the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal during the hearing of State and National Assembly appeal cases from Imo State. The turmoil unfolded when the All Progressive Congress (APC) counsel, Echezona Etiaba, presented two petitions from his clients, alleging that the three-member panel had been compromised.
In the letter read by the presiding Justice, the APC accused Damian Dodo (SAN), whom they claimed to be counsel for one of the appellants, of being the conduit to influence the panel, led by Justice Danjuma Mohammed, the presiding Judge of Makurdi Division of the Court of Appeal. The other panel members are Justice Peter Affen from Yola Division and Justice Asmau’u Musa Mainoma, a newly appointed justice to the Court of Appeal.
Notably, Damian Dodo was not the counsel for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or Labour Party in any of the pre-election cases or the main tribunal in Imo State, and he did not represent any of the parties at the tribunal or before the Court of Appeal.
Confronted with these allegations, the justices declared their innocence and chose to recuse themselves from the appeals of Imo State. They revealed that they were informed of their sitting partners and cases just before the court session.
Lawyers present during the proceedings expressed anger and astonishment at the situation, with all the appeals left unheard. They criticized Echezona Etiaba for using his status as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) to present unfounded and defamatory petitions, demanding that the panel recuse themselves. They also questioned his colleague’s conduct.
Ajuonuma Stanley, one of the lawyers, called on the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee to investigate the matter and urged the President of the Court of Appeal to ensure that the case is heard by impartial individuals who cannot be compromised in completing their assignment. He emphasized that such allegations should not go without proper investigation, and the President of the court should exercise greater vigilance. Stanley also noted that the accusations against the PDP were unrelated to the appeal of Okigwe North Federal Constituency filed by LP candidate Chikwem Okafor.
