Refrains from going into exercise in futility as the petition was simply seen as an academic exercise where the petitioner failed to support his claims with necessary documents and the required witnesses from the 143 polling units _where he questioned_ the outcome of the election results or claimed that elections did not even hold or were cancelled and also failed to provide polling unit agents as witnesses!
The petitioner, Hon. Momah had argued that the election was invalid as the outcome didn’t represent the majority of votes following irregularities and electoral manipulations that made the election inconclusive by corrupt practices.
The tribunal frowned at the petitioner’s argument against the arrangement of the first respondent’s name as Agbodike Paschal Arinzechukwu and Agbodike Paschal A maintaining that it’s an issue of nomenclature or mere arrangements of names which the tribunal did not see as a fraudulent step for criminality or other dubious intentions on the part of the respondent, Dr Agbodike.
The tribunal maintained also that the use of “shall in law” is prima facie imperative and must be obeyed. Hence, it sees the neglect of the electoral requirements which demands that a petition shall be backed with necessary documents or proofs as a big failure on the part of the petitioner.
The judgement indicated thus, *”that the petition wasn’t filed on 17/03/2023 with necessary documents as required by law and since there’s no need for trial by ambush the petitioner’s failure to file the voters register and other documents invalidates the petition.*
Further, it maintained, *”that Momah ought to have proved his assertion of corrupt practices ward by ward, polling unit by polling unit which he never did, but only brought in five witnesses who failed to help him ascertain his claims before the tribunal as they were not eye witnesses to the conducts of the February 25, 2023 National Assembly election in all the polling units and political wards in the areas he contested their election results in Ihiala Federal Constituency.”*
Thus, the tribunal insisted that witnesses in election petition tribunal must be those who see with their eyes (qualified as eye witnesses) – and not hear say or those who testify from information they obtained from people or from fake news reporters!
Going further, the tribunal maintained that Momah must have come with witnesses from practically all the wards where he claimed that elections did not hold, that is, people who are physically on ground as well as the polling unit agents from all the areas he argued the results, who can testify to what really happened in the 143 polling units, not just five persons who couldn’t even know what happened in their polling units or wards as they are not spirits. Failure to do so as seen from the witnesses was a great error as the body of proving an election lies on the petitioner.
Continuing with the judgement, the Lead judge maintained that, *It is not enough for the petitioner to file a petition, he has the onus of substantiating his arguments with proper defence, necessary documentations and the election day on-the-spot witnesses as recommended by law. He has to prove the case of the disenfranchised voters ward by ward, polling unit by unit with the evidence of the disenfranchised voters. The witnesses must provide their voters cards and tender authentic witnesses to prove the point of being disenfranchised.*
It was in the light of the above points that the victory cum election of Rt Hon Paschal Arinze Agbodike, PhD, to represent the good people of Ihiala Federal Constituency at the Federal House of Representatives, Abuja as announced by INEC after the 25th of February, 2023 was upheld today, Tuesday, 5th of September, 2023 by the National Assembly election tribunal sitting at the State High Court Awka for the Petitioner’s (Hon Barr Ifeanyi Chuddy Momah’s) inability to follow the procedures provided by the electoral act.
Earlier, Barr Maxwell Udechukwu while responding to the tribunal after the judgement indicated that the respondents were not willing to demand costs from PDP’s Hon Barr Ifeanyi Chuddy Momah as they have decided to let it go in the spirit of brotherhood.
