by Nurat Uthman
In a landmark judgment, the Court of Appeal sitting in Enugu has upheld the sack of Hon. Simon Atigwe of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the House of Representatives.
The court affirmed the declaration of Hon. Dennis Nnamdi Agbo of the Labour Party (LP) as the winner of the February 3rd, 2024 re-run election for Igbo-Eze North/Udenu Federal Constituency.
The unanimous decision was delivered by the three-member panel, chaired by Justice J.O Ekanem.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had initially declared Atigwe the winner of the re-run election. However, Agbo challenged the declaration and won at the Election Petition Tribunal and now the Appeal Court.
Labour Party lawyer, Ifeanyi Ogenyi, celebrated the victory on social media, saying, “The wheel of justice turns slowly, but it grinds. Truth and justice has prevailed, no matter the wait. Dennis Agbo has prevailed!”
This judgment marks a significant turn in the electoral dispute, with Agbo initially winning the February 25th, 2023 election but being sacked by the appellate court.
