The Court of Appeal, Abuja, yesterday, upheld it’s earlier judgement declaring Hon. Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe as Senator-elect for Cross River North senatorial district.
The Court in two separate rulings held that it cannot overrule itself in its own judgment, when it has not been established that there was a slip in the delivery of such a particular judgment.
Two contestants, Chief Joe Agi (SAN) and Senator Stephen Odey had last week in their separate applications invited the Court of Appeal, Abuja to revisit and review the case so as to set aside its earlier judgment by the Calabar Division which declared Jarigbe as the authentic winner of the December 5, 2020 by-election for the senatorial district.
Agi and Odey had claimed that the appellate court erred in its decision when it dismissed their own appeals against the judgment of the National and State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal and found merit in Jarigbe’s appeal, and went ahead to order the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately issue Jarigbe certificate of return which the electoral umpire “wrongly withdrew” from him.
In her lead judgement, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, said that the appellate court lacked the jurisdiction to review and amend its own decision in the Cross River Senatorial district by-election delivered by the Calabar Division of the court. Justice Dongban-Mensem, held that, “the court will not overrule its earlier decision at the whims and caprices of the parties”.
The court in a unanimous decision, held that the appellants did not show any slip in its earlier judgment and awarded the sum of N1 million in favour of each of the respondents in the two separate suits.
