Victor Umeh

Onyebuchi Ezigbo                    

The All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) has described as unconventional the manner in which the Nigerian Police moved to enforce the Appeal court judgment on local government councils in Imo State.

In a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Bernard Akomas, the party condemned the haste with which the police moved to disrupt the activities of the local councils without due regard to laid down legal procedures.

“It is regrettable that the action of the police is coming on the heel of an appeal by Imo State Government against the judgment. More worrisome is that while the appeal and motion for notice of stay of execution of the judgment have been served the appropriate quarters, the police ignored all these but instead continued to pursue execution of a judgment whose appeal is before the Supreme Court, the highest court of the land, “ he said.

He argued that it is a well-known fact in law that whenever a motion for stay of execution is pending before a court of competent jurisdiction, all parties are expected to observe the status-quo. “We wish to state that the party has never been served with any drawn-up order nor forms 48 and 49 which ordinarily are necessary warnings about consequences of disobedience as to empower the police to enforce the judgment by force.

APGA in Imo State therefore cannot be said to have breached any judgment of the court as to warrant police invasion of the local councils on the guise of enforcing court judgment.

“APGA as a party is founded on rule of law as demonstrated in Anambra State and other related cases and our position is that all parties should allow the judicial process to run its full steam as the party is prepared, willing and ever ready to abide by the outcome of the Supreme Court at the end, “ he said.