Court of Appeal

From Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

Appeal Court sitting in Benin City, Edo State, yesterday struck out the appeal filed by Mr. Jude Asikwa of Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) against the victory of Senator Arthur Okowa of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The Court said it threw out the case because it was filed out of time. It also said the same appeal had earlier been dismissed by the Court.

Striking out the appeal brought by Asikwa through his counsel, Sola Abidakun, the three-man Justices led by Justice Raphael Agbo, said: “Even if the court decide to hear the matter today, October 12, 2011, it has already lapse.”

Earlier, counsel to Asikwa had said that the ground of the appeal was that as at the time it was struck out, they still had three days for it to elapse.

However, the justices of the Appeal Court held different views. According to them, as at September 27, 2011 when the matter was struck out, the court could not have started entertaining a matter, whose statutory time to hear it was 60 days.

Justice Agbo, therefore, was of the opinion that the position of the court did not give room for discretion as demanded by counsel to the appellant, adding that by doing so would cause havoc and a lot of mischief.

Speaking to newsmen, counsel to the appellant, Mr. Sola Abidakun, said his client would go to the Supreme Court to seek clarification on the issue of filing out of time.

“The issue of 60 days given for filing of appeal is too tight. Justice is not really to be done but must be seen to be done. That is why I said we must go back to the Supreme Court to review the matter and see what we can do,” he declared.