In a space of one week, former Governor of Imo State, has had two political loses.
Fresh from losing, woefully, his N100m deposit in the All Progressives Congress Presidential Primary where he scored zero votes, Okorocha has again been dealt a heavy political blow by the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
The Apex Court has affirmed Dr MacDonald Ebere, as the authentic Chairman of the Imo State Chapter of the APC.
By this judgement, the Court has pulled the rug from under the feet of the Okorocha-backed factional Chairman, Dan Nwafor, and thrown out the judgement from the lower Courts which declared him Chairman.
This followed its unanimous judgment setting aside an earlier ruling by an FCT High Court which recognised Mr. Dan Nwafor as the Chairman.
The Supreme Court judgment read by Justice Adamu Jauro on behalf of four other justices, held that the FCT High Court lacked jurisdiction to have heard the suit abinitio.
“The trial court lacked the territorial jurisdictional competence to have entertained the suit in the first place, hence rendering the decision it reached a nullity.”
The Supreme Court further held that: “The law is settled that a suit should be filed in the High Court of the state in which the facts constituting the cause of action occurred; that is the High Court of the state in which the events occurred.”
It further held that for the first respondent to have left Imo State where the events in dispute occurred, and rushed to Abuja to file the suit amounted to “forum shopping and a gross abuse of court processes.”
The Supreme Court therefore struck out the appeal.
“The suit together with the processes filed right from the trial Court are hereby stuck out. Parties are to bear their respective costs.”
The other Justices who presided over the matter are Olukayode Ariwoola, Amina Adamu Augie, Uwani Musa Abba Aji and Abdu Aboki.
