The All Progressive Congress (APC) has reiterated its confidence in the Court of Appeal and the panels set up to hear appeals arising from the judgment of the tribunals in the southern states.

This clarification became necessary following media reports of chaos in the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal after a letter emanating from the South East Zonal Vice Chairman of the APC protested the choice of the Justices of the Court of Appeal scheduled to preside over the appeals emanating from the Imo State Election Petition Tribunal between the APC and other political parties.

Upon receipt of the letter, the President of the panel, Justice Danjuma Mohammed, who is the presiding Judge of Makurdi Division of the Court of Appeal read the letter in open court.

Other members of the panel are Justice Peter Affen from Yola Division and Justice Asmau’u Musa Mainoma, who is one of the newly appointed justices to the Court of Appeal.

After reading the letter, the justices went ahead to declare their innocence and even went a step further to recuse themselves from the appeals of Imo State.

In a statement signed by a legal practitioner, Felix Obiosio on behalf of the legal team of the APC and titled; Setting The Records Straight”, the Imo State APC legal team for the National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petition Appeals led by Echezona Etiaba, SAN reaffirmed its trust in the Court of Appeal and rejected misrepresentations by what it called mischief makers.

It described as blatant falsehood, misinformation, and exaggerated reports of the outcome of the proceedings of the Court.

Obiosio asserted that the protest letters attributed to the Imo State legal team of the APC are inaccurate, false, and greatly misleading.

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The statement also detailed what transpired in the proceedings as follows:

“Upon the arrival of the Legal Team in Court, the lead Counsel Mr. Echezona Etiaba SAN was presented with a letter emanating from the South East Zonal Vice Chairman of The All Progressives Congress. The said letter protested the choice of the Justices of the Court of Appeal scheduled to preside over the appeals emanating from the Imo State Election Petition Tribunal between The All Progressives Congress, APC, and other Political Parties.

“In order to put the Court on notice of the existence of the said letter of protest authored by the Eastern Zonal Vice Chairman of the APC and addressed to the President of the Court of Appeal, Mr. Echezona Etiaba SAN felt compelled to humbly and respectfully draw the attention of the Court to the letter, of which he received laudable commendations from the Justices of the Court of Appeal, especially the Presiding Justice of the Panel who intermittently eulogised Mr. Etiaba over the way and manner he professionally conducted himself in his representation.

“As a legal team, at no point did we question or cast doubts on the integrity, competence, and credibility of the esteemed Justices of the Court of Appeal presiding over this matter. Our respect for the judiciary and its independence is unwavering, and we have absolute faith in the due process of law.

“The opinions and concerns captured in the letter emanating from the South East Zonal Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress are solely and entirely their view, and do not by any means reflect the position of the party’s legal team, or His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma.

“We were further informed by the Court of Appeal Justices during the court session, that they have received a plethora of other letters and petitions from various groups and associations, expressing dissatisfaction over their composition.

“We wish to put it on record that none of these letters emanated from our team, and neither was the same signed by us as wrongfully speculated in the media”.

“It is greatly regrettable that the general public has been misled by the misinformation so disseminated, causing unwarranted concerns and misunderstandings. Hence, we wish to unequivocally rebut the misinformation paraded around by purveyors of falsehood and assure the general public of our commitment towards the course of Justice and our unalloyed respect to the Nigerian Judiciary. We also wish to state in unambiguous terms that the Legal Team of the All Progressives Congress for Imo State led by Mr. Echezona Etiaba SAN has tremendous respect for the Learned Silk, Mr. Damian Dodo SAN, who is a distinguished member of the inner bar,” the statement concluded.