Former Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, has defeated the Independent Electoral Commission in court over the battle to retrieve his certificate of return as a senator.
A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, ordered INEC to present the certificate to him for the Imo West Senatorial District.
Justice Okon Abang gave the order in his judgment on the suit filed by Okorocha to challenge INEC’s decision to withhold his certificate of return after he was declared the winner of February 23, 2019, National Assembly election in the Imo West Senatorial District.
The commission had seized the certificate based on the returning officer’s that he declared the result under duress.
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The judge said, “Once the declaration is made under section 68(c) of the Electoral Act, INEC has become functus officio and INEC has no lawful authority to withhold the certificate of return for any reason whatsoever.
“Therefore the issue of duress is unknown to both the Electoral Act and the Constitution.”
The court ruled that Okorocha remained elected subject to the outcome of the ongoing proceedings of the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal.
“INEC shall forthwith publish and circulate the name of the plaintiff as the senator-elect representing Orlu Imo West Senatorial District.
“It is hereby ordered that INEC shall forthwith issue a certificate of return as the senator-elect representing senator-elect representing Orlu Imo West Senatorial District.”
The judge awarded the cost of N200,000 payable by INEC to the plaintiff, and awarded N100,000 payable to the plaintiff by each of the other seven defendants to the plaintiff.
A total of N900,000 cost is to be paid by defendants to Okorocha.”
The matter had caused a lot of argument between Okorocha and INEC, while party men and critics had also been divided in opinions over whether or not INEC has the power to withhold the document after election.
