Row as Benue election tribunal’s judge petitions police against litigant, lawyer – TheNigerialawyer

* Petitioners to panel member: disqualify yourself from my
case

Crisis of confidence is brewing at the National and State
Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Makurdi, the Benue State
capital.

A petitioner, who has an election matter before the panel,
Matthew Damkor, has petitioned the President of Court of Appeal,
urging the Presiding Judge of the tribunal, Justice A.A. Adeleye,
to excuse himself from his case.

The presiding judge, on his part, lodged a complaint to police
against another litigant and his counsel for defamation of
character.

Documents obtained from the tribunal showed that the All
Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Kyan State Constituency,
Livinus Ujamatyu, filed another petition to the President of Court
of Appeal, levelling allegation of misconduct against Justice
Adeleye.

Ujamatyu lost to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate,
Titus Ubah, during the last election.

In his petition, he alleged that the presiding judge invited a
lawyer, C. Gbehe, who is counsel to the PDP (the second respondent
in the petition) and had a discussion with him in the presence of
lawyers and litigants.

He also alleged that the judge delivered a ruling in a motion,
which was not debated upon in the court.

Ujamatyu added that when his counsel, S.A. Akpehe, came with a
motion to correct typographical errors, Justice Adeleye asked the
opposing counsel if such a document exists and immediately
dismissed the motion.

The counsel to the petitioner, acting on his client’s petition,
filed a motion calling on Justice Adeleye to disqualify himself
from the petition before him.

But, Justice Adeleye, in turn, petitioned the police, alleging
that the petitioner and his counsel defamed his character.

The matter was reported before Assistant Inspector General of
Police (AIG) Zone 4.

The police have invited the lawyer and his client to make
statements.

But, in an interview with The Nation, the PDP lawyer, Gbehe,
said the judge did not invite him to his chamber.

Gbehe said when the sitting of the day was over and the judge
left the courtroom, someone tapped him on his shoulder that he was
being called.

”When I was about going towards the judge, who was already in
his car and the driver was ready to move, Justice Adeleye told me
from a distance that he was not calling me and so, I left,” he
said.

Gbehe said the whole conversation was not more than 10 seconds
and was not inside the court’s chamber, but outside.

He said if a ruling did not favour a client, the best thing is
for him to appeal and not petition.

”In my over 15 years of practice, I have not seen litigants
petitioning against a judge; you go on appeal,” the PDP lawyer
said.

But, Akpehe insisted that since the judge petitioned the police
against a litigant and lawyer before him, there is every
possibility that justice cannot be done before such a court.

He said his client has, threfore, asked the judge to disqualify
himself from hearing the election petition.

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