Why Supreme Court sacked Hembe – Lawyer
A lawyer in the appeal which challenged and eventually overturned the election of Herman Hembe has attributed the success of the appeal to the attention paid to the case by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen.
Barrister Chidi Nwankwo, who represented Dorothy Mato in the appeal which challenged Hembe’s seat as member of House of Representatives for Vandekya/Konshisa Federal Constituency of Benue State, disclosed this while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the Supreme Court verdict.
He said the CJN ensured the matter, and all other electoral matters were dealt with expeditiously with the aim of doing substantial justice, adding that the CJN presided over the apex court appeal panel and read the lead judgment.
“It is the triumph of substantial justice over technicality, and that thanked God that evil plan to exclude his client by relocating the venue of the primary has failed,” he said.
A five member panel of justices held that Dorathy Mato of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is the winner of the March 28, 2015 National Assembly election for the constituency and directed INEC to withdraw the certificate of return issued Hembe.
In a lead judgment by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, the apex court unanimously ordered the Speaker of the House of Representatives or the Clerk of the House to immediately swear-in Mato.
Hembe, who was the committee chairman on FCT, was further ordered to “refund all the salaries/allowances and or emoluments he collected while occupying the seat in the House of Representatives within 90 days of this order to the House of Representatives.”
The Supreme Court said there was nothing to contradict the report of the Electoral Appeal Committee on the principles of rotation and therefore unfair for Konshisha Local Government Area to also take the House seat having already taken the Senate seat through Senator Barnabas Gemade.
Mato had through his counsel Chidi Nwankwo challenged the decision of the Court of Appeal in Makurdi which dismissed hirer appeal against Hembe on the grounds that it breached the report of the Election Appeal Committee report and Article 13.4(ix), 14(iii) and (viii), 18(iv) and 29 (iv) (d) of the APC.