Seizure of Okorocha’s properties: Court dismisses appeal filed by Imo, others

A three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, Wednesday, dismissed
the appeal filed by the Attorney General of Imo State and forty
others challenging the ruling of an Owerri Federal High Court,
which granted Senator Rochas Okorocha the leave to amend processes
filed before the Court.

Presiding Judge in the Suit with Suit No:CA/ABJ/CV/942/2020,
Justice Dattijo Yahaya, dismissed the appeal, following a notice of
discontinuance dated and filed on March 16 by the Attorney General
of Imo State, Cyprain Akaolisa, on behalf of the appellants.

Counsel to Senator Rochas Okorocha, Oba Maduabuchi, opposed the
withdrawal of the appeal on the ground that the appellants want to
deceive the Court by pretending to discontinue the appeal and go
back to Imo State and complete what they intend to do before
returning to the Court.

He said the appellants were only interested in humiliating the
Senator by marking his properties and those of his associates for
demolition during the pendency of the suit before a Federal High
Court in Owerri and the appeal before the Court of Appeal.

The Presiding Judge however struck out the appeal on the premise
that an appellant has the right to withdraw an appeal following a
notice of discontinuance properly filed before the Court.

Speaking to journalists shortly after the ruling, Okorocha’s
Counsel, stated that, “the appeal was against the ruling of a lower
Court allowing us to amend our processes. Imo State government
jumped to the Court of Appeal, saying that it was wrong to allow us
to amend our processes.

“They filed their brief; I filed my brief and filed an objection
that the appeal is incompetent. Then we filed a motion that every
step they have taken, including the arrest and humiliation of
Rochas Okorocha during the pendency of this matter must be set
aside by the Court of Appeal. We served them with that Motion, they
have not filed a counter to it, they went ahead to mark properties
belonging to has and his associates for demolition based upon the
proceedings of the panels of inquiry that took place during the
pendency of both this Appeal and the matter in the lower Court,
which is abuse of process of Court.”

He continued that, “now they have achieved their objective which
is to humiliate Rochas, to take over his properties, they have
withdrawn the appeal, so what can be more abusive of the process of
Court than that.

“When the matter is pending in the Court of Appeal you go and
round up proceeding in your panel on enquiry, while the matter is
pending in the Court of Appeal you go and forfeit the properties of
Rochas Okorocha, you went and Mark his properties for demolition.
This is the impunity we have been shouting about, people do things
the way they want to do it and not the way the law the law asked
them to do it.

“How can you file an appeal you know is incompetent, then while
the appeal is pending in the Court of Appeal, you know ask your
panels of inquiry to conclude and submit their reports and you
issues white paper, seal people’s houses, mark them for demolition
while the appeal is pending in the Court of Appeal, that is
obviously an abuse of Court process.”

A three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, Wednesday, dismissed
the appeal filed by the Attorney General of Imo State and forty
others challenging the ruling of an Owerri Federal High Court,
which granted Senator Rochas Okorocha the leave to amend processes
filed before the Court.

Presiding Judge in the Suit with Suit No:CA/ABJ/CV/942/2020,
Justice Dattijo Yahaya, dismissed the appeal, following a notice of
discontinuance dated and filed on March 16 by the Attorney General
of Imo State, Cyprain Akaolisa, on behalf of the appellants.

Counsel to Senator Rochas Okorocha, Oba Maduabuchi, opposed the
withdrawal of the appeal on the ground that the appellants want to
deceive the Court by pretending to discontinue the appeal and go
back to Imo State and complete what they intend to do before
returning to the Court.

He said the appellants were only interested in humiliating the
Senator by marking his properties and those of his associates for
demolition during the pendency of the suit before a Federal High
Court in Owerri and the appeal before the Court of Appeal.

The Presiding Judge however struck out the appeal on the premise
that an appellant has the right to withdraw an appeal following a
notice of discontinuance properly filed before the Court.

Speaking to journalists shortly after the ruling, Okorocha’s
Counsel, stated that, “the appeal was against the ruling of a lower
Court allowing us to amend our processes. Imo State government
jumped to the Court of Appeal, saying that it was wrong to allow us
to amend our processes.

“They filed their brief; I filed my brief and filed an objection
that the appeal is incompetent. Then we filed a motion that every
step they have taken, including the arrest and humiliation of
Rochas Okorocha during the pendency of this matter must be set
aside by the Court of Appeal. We served them with that Motion, they
have not filed a counter to it, they went ahead to mark properties
belonging to has and his associates for demolition based upon the
proceedings of the panels of inquiry that took place during the
pendency of both this Appeal and the matter in the lower Court,
which is abuse of process of Court.”

He continued that, “now they have achieved their objective which
is to humiliate Rochas, to take over his properties, they have
withdrawn the appeal, so what can be more abusive of the process of
Court than that.

“When the matter is pending in the Court of Appeal you go and
round up proceeding in your panel on enquiry, while the matter is
pending in the Court of Appeal you go and forfeit the properties of
Rochas Okorocha, you went and Mark his properties for demolition.
This is the impunity we have been shouting about, people do things
the way they want to do it and not the way the law the law asked
them to do it.

“How can you file an appeal you know is incompetent, then while
the appeal is pending in the Court of Appeal, you know ask your
panels of inquiry to conclude and submit their reports and you
issues white paper, seal people’s houses, mark them for demolition
while the appeal is pending in the Court of Appeal, that is
obviously an abuse of Court process.”