Appeal Court Suspends Judgement Sacking Alex Otti

The Court of Appeal, Kano Division has granted an order for a stay and suspension of the judgement of a Federal High Court in Kano State sacking the Abia State Governor-elect, Dr. Alex Otti.

The court also granted the governor-elect leave to appeal as an interested party against the judgement of Justice Mohammed Yunusa delivered on May 18.

The three-man panel of the court led by Justice Ita Mbaba granted Otti seven days from Saturday within which to file the notice of appeal as an interested party. The other two justices are Justice Uche Onyemenam and Justice Usman Musale.

They granted the application after listening to Abiodun Owonikoko, SAN, who represented the appellant (Otti) alongside Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ken Ahia and Bashir Muhammad.

The respondents, Ibrahim Haruna Ibrahi, Labour Party, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), were not represented in court, despite being served.

The order for a stay and suspension of the judgement was granted, pending the hearing and determination of the appeal for which leave had been granted

The appellant was also ordered “to give an undertaking for damages in the sum of two million naira in favour of each of the respondents in the event of failure by the appellant to file or diligently prosecute the appeal in terms of the proposed notice of appeal containing ten grounds in Exhibit AO4”.