A youth group, Youths Off The Street Initiative (YOTSI), has alleged that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the forthcoming Anambra State governorship election, Mr. Valentine Ozigbo, is being victimised by the judiciary.
The non-governmental organisation (NGO) in a statement signed by its Coordinator, Mr. Kennedy Iyere, based its submission on the recent court judgment which ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to enlist Senator Ugochukwu Uba as the candidate of PDP against Ozigbo, ‘who was elected by the party’.
Uba and Ozigbo had emerged PDP candidates for the forthcoming state governorship election from different factions. While Uba emerged from a faction loyal to his brother; Chris Uba, Ozigbo emerged from the faction ‘recognised’ by the PDP national leadership.
Iyere, a social entrepreneur and activist in the statement made available to THISDAY in Awka at the weekend, called on Judges of the Appeal and Supreme Courts to help Ozigbo, who he alleged is, being frustrated by some Judges, “even though he is the people’s choice.”
The national leadership of PDP had last weekend pledged to rally Nigerians against an Anambra High Court Judge, Justice Obiora Nwabunike, for entering a judgement against Ozigbo in favour of Uba, and refusing to release the judgment to aid Ozigbo’s appeal of the judgment.
In the statement Iyere promised to mobilise youths in the state and in Nigeria against Justice Nwabunike, calling for the intervention of judges in the Appeal and Supreme Courts in the matter.
According to him, “We appeal to noble Judges, especially within the Appeal and Supreme Courts, to interven in the ongoing judicial victimisation of Valentine Ozigbo by unfair Judges, who are allies of Chris Uba (and his cohorts).
“Uba is a serial electoral litigant, who is known for exploiting electoral litigations as cheap avenues for acquiring massive wealth. This appeal is made in the aftermath of the compromised judgement delivered by Justice O.A Nwabunike, who has in every way allegedly suppressed the voice of conscience by truncating justice against Ozigbo, who is the known authentic PDP candidate and winner of the primary.
“To make matters worse, Justice Nwabunike has also denied PDP lawyers the access to the case file, which is actually required in order for them to rightly file an appeal.”
Iyere said as a way of defending Ozigbo against ongoing “judicial victimisation by corrupt judges, who are allies of Chris Uba,” YOTSI has launched, a judicial anti-corruption electoral movement known as ‘Justice4Ozigbo Movement’.
“The movement’s mandate is to track all electoral legal proceedings relating to all cases filed by Uba and his allies, which seeks to challenge the candidacy of Ozigbo, as the legitimate PDP standard bearer in the 2021 Anambra State poll,” he said.
