Police avert violence at C’River tribunal




Armed policemen on Tuesday averted a crisis in Calabar following a fresh application by the counsel for the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Paul Erokoro, challenging the competence of the Chairman, Cross River National and State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal, Justice Christopher Awubra. As early as 8am, party supporters in the cases listed for the day had besieged the courtroom but a few minutes to the commencement of sitting, counsel for the PDP and the Labour Party were called into the judge’s chamber for a meeting. When the lawyers came out from the meeting with the judges, indications emerged that the tribunal would not sit because Erokoro had filed a fresh application challenging the competence of the tribunal chairman.
Erokoro, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, claimed that the judge could not continue to preside over matters because he was a serving Customary Court judge in Taraba State.
According to him, this violates the provisions of the constitution which says that the chairman of the tribunal must be a serving High Court judge.
Among the cases listed for the day was that of Senator Gershom Bassey of the PDP versus Senator Bassey Otu of the Labour Party for Cross River-South senatorial district.
Others cases were Bassey Ewa (PDP) versus Dr. Alex Egbona (LP) for the Abi-Yakurr constituency in the House of Representatives; and Senator Rose Oko of the PDP and Dr. Julius Okpotu (LP) for the Cross River-North senatorial district.
Also listed was that of Mr. Essien Ayi (PDP) versus Mr. Dominic Edem (LP) for Calabar-South, Bakassi and Akpabuyo constituency in the House of Representatives, among others.
After waiting for a few minutes, the registrar of the tribunal, Mr. Innocent Akidi, emerged from a marathon meeting with counsel and tribunal members in the inner chambers to announce the adjournment.
“All matters in this tribunal have been adjourned till Monday, October 5, 2015 for further hearing,” he said.
The announcement did not go down well with party supporters who became unruly, prompting the tribunal authorities to call for additional security.
A heated argument, which almost snowballed into a free-for-all, ensued between party supporters.
It took the efforts of armed policemen to bring the situation under control as the supporters were already spoiling for a showdown.
Erokoro later told journalists that he saw a provision in the constitution that required a chairman of electoral tribunal to be a sitting high court judge and not a judge of customary court.
Erokoro, who later addressed journalists, said, “The tribunal chairman had admitted to our position that he is a judge of customary court in the Taraba State judiciary but that he was not the one that appointed himself. He was appointed by the President of the Court of Appeal and he would have to consult before letting us know their position.”
Irate supporters of the LP petitioners rained abuses on Erokoro, saying the move was to scuttle the progress made by the tribunal so far.
He was, thereafter, escorted out of the court premises by heavily armed policemen in six pickup vans.

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